I love Fall camping. The Oklahoma heat finally starts to subside, the air becomes crisp and cool, the leaves crunch underfoot, and large “Vs” of migrating birds fill the air…
And in my picturesque campsite this past weekend, nestled beside a lake, we were miles from cities and towns and their light which obscures views of the night sky. The stars over my little backpacking tent stood out in stark contrast to the black backdrop.
Stars, planets, and meteor showers were all on display. Think of it, just our galaxy, the Milky Way, is 100,000 light years across. And in this 100,000-light-year galaxy are so many stars that it would take 2,500 years to count them all. Consider that, then consider that the Milky Way is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the known universe.
“These are numbers and distances we can talk about all day long but will never comprehend. Yet these are numbers and distances God created with words from his mouth. Do we have the right idea about the size of God? Or do we imagine Him a little smaller than He actually is? And in turn, do we imagine ourselves a little bigger than we actually are?”
Louis Giglio talks about how big our God is, and then he adds this. He says, “…and He knows you by name. The same God that holds this endless space called the universe, created you. He knows your heart. He loves you. While we feel insignificant beside the mass expanse of what He has created, we are an integral part of that creation. As David wrote in Psalms 139:1, ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful’ (Psalms 139:13).
As big as His creation is, it did not stop Him from entering into our comparably tiny world and redeeming us, reconciling us to Himself so we can forever enjoy His splendor. Our insignificant planet in the light of His love, makes us significant. And to be significant in the eyes of the God who knows every billionth star by name, gives us hope, confidence, comfort and the purpose needed to live an important life on our miniscule planet that is so greatly loved.”
He is a BIG God. And a God big enough to create all the heavens, is big enough to be all we need.