“Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created those stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.” - Isaiah 40:26

One of the attributes of God is that He is big, great, glorious, majestic - more so than anything we can wrap our minds around. As my pastor said this morning in his sermon, God’s greatness blazes when compared with anything on earth or in heaven. He shines in the light, as a new version of the old hymn, “O Worship The King” declares. He’s not just a candle against a pitch black backdrop; He’s a brilliant light that makes the sun, in all of its light and heat and intensity look inconsequential.

A lot of things on this earth blow my mind. Gravity is one of those things. I know from experience that gravity is very real. When I, weighing 152 pounds, try to jump off the ground, gravity wastes no time in pulling me back down to earth and reminding me that I am not a bird. I can hardly get six inches off the ground. But you can load up a jumbo jet, a big metal tank really, full of hundreds of people of varying body masses with all their junk and somehow it can fly high above the ground with relative stability for hours on end. I don’t understand that kind of thing.

Much less do I understand the workings of the universe, or the immensity of it all. I heard the other day that they just discovered a new planet way out there in our solar system, revolving around the same sun we do. Until now it had gone unnoticed by us humans with all of our telescopes and satellites and expensive space gadgets, but known and named and accounted for by God since who knows how many thousands or millions of years since He put it there and set it into orbit.

On the table beside my bed I have what I suppose could be considered a daily devotional book. In all honesty, I don’t refer to it all that often. I got it per the recommendation of a guy I really respect who said it transformed the way he approaches God. Truth be told, I don’t know that the folks who compiled the devotional know Jesus or recognize the Creator behind creation. You see, this devotional is actually a photo book called “The Universe: 365 Days.” Every day it features a different photo of something in space, like a faraway galaxy or cool shafts of light in the Colorado sky with bison grazing below, oblivious to it all.

Though I appreciate the photographs and I think the accompanying explanations are fascinating, I know that when someone talks about the size of some galaxy being so many hundreds of millions times bigger than such and such, I can’t really appreciate its size. Numbers like that are incomprehensible to me and I doubt I’ll ever be able to grasp those kinds of figures.

But God Almighty, the Creator, shaped the stars and the planets and their moons, and placed them in their proper places. God didn’t just flick the planets and stars out into space and forget about them, but He numbered them, named them, and has them all accounted for, even today. In Isaiah 40 we read that by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one star is missing.

We know from the New Testament that not one sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing. I was at a friend’s house last night and there saw a kitten that had lost the use of its two back legs in an accident. Now, wherever it goes, the limp legs are dragged behind. My friend said that they have too many cats on the farm to warrant a trip to the vet whenever something happens to one of them. I can understand how someone with just one pet might be more inclined to go to greater lengths to ensure the pet’s well-being than would someone with cats running around all over the place.

Just as amazing and mind-boggling as God having the stars numbered and named is the equally stunning truth that He knows us by name. He knows me by name. He knows all about me: about my joys and sorrows, about my faith and wandering, about my obedience and my sin. And He loves me deeper than I’ll ever know and deeper than I could ever love someone or be loved. All this despite the fact that in the scope of things, you wouldn’t think me to be any more significant in the eyes of the Creator than just another farm cat. Or, perhaps more realistically, one of the gazillion of ants scurrying here and there on this great green earth. But it’s true. God loves me personally, deeply, intimately, and His love is unwavering.

I grow tired of loving people, and often quit before I even start. In general, I’m a tired little weakling. But I ought not be discouraged before reading verses 28 and 29…

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary and tired, and to him who lacks might He increases power.”

I guess this is the sort of thing people are getting at when they say things about plugging into God to access power. We humans are weak, frail, mortal beings, prone to failure. If not for God becoming man and making Himself available to us in His son Jesus, the idea of human weakness and mortality seems awfully dismal and depressing.

But because God displays Himself in those of us who recognize our inadequacy as people, we can rejoice not only that God is great, but that we are not, and yet He is great in and through us. With that kind of an outlook, the idea of tapping into God’s power and blessing becomes very God-centered, with us both as recipient and conduit of His blessing and power. I’ve heard this described using the analogy that we are pipes through which God’s blessing is to flow. I like the analogy, but I think an even more accurate picture is of a sponge. When water is added our very texture changes, from dry and brittle and useless to soft and pliable and able to function as we were meant to. But don’t stop with a water-logged sponge with more water than it knows what to do with. This process, the amazing process of God’s work being done in and through us, is not complete until we allow God to squeeze us out so that we flow in whichever direction He provides and directs.

As the end of the chapter tells us, in words we have heard before, that though all of us, young and old, grow tired and stumble badly, “those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

It is in Christ, being in right relationship with Him, that we find the strength to keep on keeping on. And, if the eagles’ wings are any indication, in Christ we will do things the world never thought possible. Against the backdrop of a tired and stumbling people, we’ll be flying like eagles, all to the glory of God.

So now, having begun by penning reflections on God’s infinite understanding in naming and knowing the stars I have concluded with thoughts about Christ’s love for us and desire to make Himself known in and through us. At first glance, these seem like separate topics, but to me, somehow the progression has become seamless.

It seems to me that being in close relationship with God has a lot to do with focusing on who He is - recognizing His attributes and His character, pondering these things, prayerfully and with thanksgiving, and communicating them to others, regardless of what they think about Jesus. Regardless of what I hold true about myself and God and life and faith, if the Bible stands in contrast, I’m wrong. When I internalize the truth found in the Scripture I am then able to speak things that are true. And when I begin to view God correctly, I’ll be able to have a more accurate analysis of myself.

In light of God’s holiness and righteousness, I’m sinful and unrighteous. In light of His faithfulness, I’m wayward and unfaithful. In light of His grandeur, I’m small and weak. In light of His infinite wisdom and understanding, I acknowledge my finitude. In light of His grace and mercy, I recognize that I am forgiven and righteous in His sight. In light of His love I know that I am accepted.

The proper view of self is neither self-depreciating or self-congratulatory because both are self-centered. The proper view of self comes in light of a focus on Christ - we are sinners saved by grace, we are being transformed into His likeness, and even now we are righteous and holy in His sight. Both sides must be held in unison to prevent erring in one direction or the other - whether that of focusing on our failing or focusing on our worth. It is true we’re sinful. It is also true that God loves us unconditionally. These are two seemingly incompatible, yet undeniable, truths. Or, perhaps more accurately, it is one great mysterious truth to be known simply as the good news.