And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, (Gen 1:14 ESV)
The urban city-dweller who lives in a beautiful home, possesses an overflowing supply of food and water, and has access to the finest medical care available is one of the most spiritually impoverished, malnourished and disadvantaged persons on the planet. The concrete jungle of towering high-rise buildings rob him of the daily view of the majestic mountains and landscapes that our God has carved into the bedrock of the earth. The pleasures of a private swimming pool in his backyard dulls his mind to the remembrance of the mighty oceans that God has covered the earth with. The clean water that flows freely from the faucet in his home and the grocery store shelves that are filled with food declare to him that mankind lives by the fruit of his own ingenuity and not by the grace of God. How difficult it is to worship God for his infinite glories when we are daily charmed by the technological glories of man!
But for thousands of years this was not so! Genesis tells us that the first man and woman who walked the earth, along with the Israelites and the nations of the world, did not look down at their phones or computer screens to schedule their lives, but instead tilted their heads up to the stars. What a breathtaking and awe-inspiring sight the night sky is! The blue light of Sirius that gleams with a life of its own, the bursts of comets that blaze across the heavenly vault and die out in seconds, the millions of stars that twinkle and shine—all these declare to us the glory of God in the heavens. Without digital watches or phones, the ancients acknowledged their dependence on God for their future plans every evening as they looked to God’s celestial domain to count the cycles of the moon and the passage of days and nights to determine the seasons and the years.
Believer, when was the last time that you went for a walk in God’s creation and marveled at the work of his hands? When was the last time you gazed at the moon and stars which God has set in place and worshipped him for crafting these magnificent heavenly luminaries to establish the rhythms of life that God has blessed us with? What a brilliant app God has programmed into the heavenlies! No smartphone is required to know the date of the beginning of the month. No battery is required to ensure that the moon is always visible. God’s luminaries do not wander erratically but run their course with the steady, clockwork-precision that marks of all of our perfect Creator’s very good works. They never run out of power, they never have downtime, and they are seen by every tribe, tongue and nation in the world! How great is our God! Christian, if you find yourself overwhelmed by the troubles of this world, turn yourself from the monuments that testify to the glory of man. Lift your head up from the glow of your digital calendar that seeks to rule your life. Turn instead to the heavenly monuments that testify to the surpassing greatness and glory of God. And as you gaze at the Creator’s brilliance, remember that we need not fear, for this is ultimately our Father’s world. So, make your plans and schedule your days, but never forget to look up to the heavens and remember that only if the Lord wills, will we do this or that (Jam 4:15). In all that we do, let us always be as conscious as the Israelite was—whose heart was moved by his Creator’s brilliance every night he gazed into the night sky—that God gifted all of mankind with his heavenly timepieces so that we could schedule our lives not according to our own pride, but according to his abundant grace.
