Seeing God More Clearly
*As we take this week to fast and pray, the real focus needs to not be on denying food or some other comfort but on seeing God more clearly. Below is a guest blog post on that topic by CoaH member, Marlene Gibson.
Tuesday nights are trash night at our house and while this may on its face seem like a mundane task, it’s a chore that gives me a chance to momentarily step outside myself and put things back into perspective. Once the barrels are out at the curb I always take a few moments to stand in the driveway and look up at the stars.
It’s a habit I’ve always had, but in our new home the views of the sky are much easier because the lights around me are much fewer. Just as the brightness of the world can limit how much we see of the sky so too can it diminish how much we see of Him. The world and all its temptations are much like the sun that while it shines it hides every star from the sky. How often do I turn myself into the sun, blotting out all the stars and thinking “look how bright I am?” It isn’t until I tamp down the sin of making myself bigger that I can truly appreciate the God of the universe, much as we cannot view the night sky until our slice of the earth turns itself from the sun revealing the stars that though they were always there, were unseen.
That habit of making much of myself and my place in the world much bigger than it should be and the awesome God of the universe that much smaller by comparison is one I have to fight on a constant basis. Looking up has the instant effect of re-orienting me for Psalm 19:1 says, “the heavens above declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork’
We too like those very same stars are his handiwork. Genesis 2:7 states, “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground.” Scientists have discovered that many of the heavier elements that make up the world around us AND US are created within the stars themselves. I love the idea that He has knitted me from the heavens.
The more we stare at the night sky, the more we learn about the universe, the harder it becomes to grasp. It’s like trying to picture eternity and it can make you feel very small, but Psalm 8 says “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? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
The creator of the stars and far flung galaxies cares about us and loves us and instead of feeling crushed by the weight of the heavens it brings me peace and closer to Him.
So, the next time you find yourself standing in the driveway, take a moment and look up. Turn your face to the starlight, see God looking back at you through the galaxies He holds in place and know that He loved you even before there were heavens to observe.
- Marlene Gibson