Stars
by John Sainsbury
In recent days, here in the UK, the sky at night has been clear with hardly a cloud by day or by night. It’s quite a rare thing in our part of the world, and it’s been marvellous! Each night I pop out into our garden with our dog Poppy before we go to our beds and, looking up at the night sky, it’s been wonderful to see the moon and the stars. Sadly, light pollution doesn’t enable me to see many stars, but the ones I can see shine out beautifully against the dark backdrop of space.
In recent years scientists have established the incredible nature of the volume and intensity of the night sky, and it really is mind-blowing. I read an article some time ago where it was said that there are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand on the earth. When I’m not looking up into the darkness, I love walking on our local beach, and it’s incredible to make that comparison. Statistics like that leave me utterly speechless.
I love how the prophet Isaiah puts it in Isaiah 40:26: “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” I don’t know what I find more amazing, the fact that there are so many, or the fact that God has a name for each and every one of them.
Given that, I love the incredible understatement of our opening verse, Genesis 1:16: ‘He also made the stars!’ How utterly incredible that God spoke all these flaming, gaseous, balls of light into being; and that He has a name for each one.
It reminds me that each one of us is intimately known to God and He knows each one of us too (Psalm 139). Our tiny struggles do not go unnoticed by the Creator of the stars, and He cares about every aspect of our lives.
Each night, as I look up and see the stars, I am reminded of the vastness of God, but I also rejoice in the intimacy that we can know with Him too. He is my heavenly Father and He adores me. He’s not distant and remote. He knows every hair on my head and every thought before it’s on my lips.
Maybe, next time you get to see the stars, let it be a trigger for worship and rejoicing of the one who ‘also made the stars.’
John Sainsbury and his wife Sue are part of the leadership team at Ellel Grange. John has served as a church leader for many years, most recently as Lead Pastor of the Garstang Free Methodist Church. He has a passion for seeing many brought into the fulness of life that following Christ brings.
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