Next time you look up at the millions of stars above, think of Psalm 8. God placed the moon and the stars in place with such delicacy!
Hi, I’m Joni Tada and I sure love sitting and gazing up at the night sky.
On a black night when you can see stars from one horizon to the other [sure you’ve got to get away from the city lights and out in the country], but when you marvel at millions of stars above, you cannot help but think – Psalm 8. David the psalmist is filled with wonder as he pens these words to God, saying, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place…what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” And I agree with David. The stars are a wonder!
How much of a wonder? Well, listen to this. Back in the late 1990s, the Hubble Space Telescope discovered a colossal protostar over 30 times the mass of our sun. And to the astonishment of astronomers, it was spotted in our own Milky Way galaxy. Now, decades later, the newer James Webb Space Telescope has revealed an additional 500,000 stars shining around that same protostar right in our galaxy! Makes me look at the night sky with breathless wonder. And to think that the Lord created all these galactic marvels with his fingers. A snap of his fingers. It sounds easy. And according to Psalm 8, it was.
Because when that Psalm attributes the creation of stars to God and “the work of [his] fingers,” it implies the delicate labor of an intricate task, you know like somebody embroidering, stitching something fine and fragile. However, when it comes to our salvation, it’s far from being nice and dainty. The salvation of sinners demanded his blood, and sweat, and tears, and the brutal force of “his righteous right hand and his holy arm.” When Jesus gripped his cross with his right hand and carried the murderous weight of our sins with his holy arm, he displayed a power that far, far exceeded his creative skill with all the stars. There was nothing dainty or delicate about your salvation. More than trying to comprehend the universe, we will never be able to comprehend – for all of eternity will never be able to understand all that Jesus accomplished on the cross. Psalm 98 puts it this way: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” How can it be that Jesus would go to such lengths? It was his love. His love moved heaven and earth for you. And in response to such a dazzling gift, just listen to these timeless words from Charles Wesley:
“Oh, and can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died he for me, who caused his pain? For me, who him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God shouldst die for me? He left his father’s throne above, so free, so infinite his grace! Emptied himself of all but love and he bled for Adam’s helpless race! ‘Tis mercy all, immense and free, and so I rose, I went forth and followed Thee.” Now, those are precious, praise-filled words to worship God with – so I want you just to print them out, take them outside on a starry night, and read them out loud. The creator of those stars and your Savior will be delighted to hear from you. One more thing – and just know that I love sharing this sort of hope with you every single day, so please join me next time right here for more inspiration and even more hope. And by the way, if you’d like to share this program on your Facebook page, just click the share button on joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends