He Calls Them Each By Name
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Psalm 19:47:4
I’m no astronomer. I’m not an expert on the night sky in any way, shape, or form. I’ve never owned even the most basic telescope.
But you don’t have to be an astronomer or own a telescope to look at the recent pictures provided by the James Webb Telescope and gasp in wonder at the sheer magnitude of all that has been created by the God we worship.
Are you familiar with the James Webb Telescope? It was launched on December 25, 2021, and arrived at its orbiting position 930,000 miles from Earth in January 2022. It is by far the greatest telescope ever made and the pictures it is sending back have scientists shaking their heads in amazement.
NASA's deputy administrator, Pam Melroy, said she was blown away by the images Webb has produced so far. "What I have seen moved me, as a scientist, as an engineer, and as a human being," she said.
Take a look at the SMACS 0723 image, which NASA says is “the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date.”
In looking at this, you might conclude that each speck of light in this image is a star – which would be amazing enough. However, the fact is that each of those specks of light is a galaxy containing thousands of stars and one of them is an incredible 13 billion light years away! How mind-boggling is that?!?!
The enormity of the universe is virtually impossible to grasp. We see thousands of galaxies in this picture and scientists state that there are countless more galaxies beyond this.
The Heavens Declare
All of this brought to life a single verse in Genesis 1 that I read this past week (Since it’s the beginning of the year, I decided to study the book of “beginnings” as part of my daily devotions.) Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…”
As difficult as it is to grasp the vastness of the universe, it’s even more difficult to grasp that there is One who created it. Our God, who spoke trillions of stars into existence, is not only behind the most distant galaxies but beyond them.
And, according to Psalm 147:4, He not only determined the number of the stars, He calls them each by name. Fantastic! The Old Testament prophet Isaiah shares more on this.
“To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
”My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 14:25-31
He Knows Your Name
Friends, think about that for a moment! The God who flung the stars into space and knows each one by name (even the galaxies we haven’t discovered yet!) - this God knows you! He knows your name. He knows your needs. And He cares about you!
He knows how weary you are – trying to keep all the plates spinning. He knows how discouraged you are, how anxious or confused you feel.
He knows your hopes and dreams for this new year. He also knows your fears and points of vulnerability. He knows how overwhelmed you feel, and yet He is never overwhelmed. He is never too tired or too busy to help you. He is always glad to be with you. Always.
Verse 31 is familiar to most of us. “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” The Hebrew word translated as “hope” also means “to look for.”
What would it be like if you would “look for” the Lord in 2024? To notice the evidences of His presence? How might that awareness of His nearness impact the way you go through the circumstances you face?
God’s promise is that when we look for Him, when we turn to Him and place our hope in Him, He will meet us at our point of need. After all, if He could make a universe like the one the Webb is revealing, there is nothing too big for Him.
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