Image by Todd Haven
Psalm 8:3-9
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Ever have one of those nights? You know the kind, tossing and turning, riddled with worry. All your problems seem magnified and beyond solving, it seems hope is snatched away with the light of day. You feel almost like you are going insane. I have them every now and then.....my Dad has them often, he tells me. The other night he was restless, worried about things. He almost woke my Mom just to have her sit with him awhile......
He started praying and meditating and God gave him a picture in his mind of the earth and how it looks from space. Part of us seeming to go about our business on the top of the ball, some on the bottom, yet we are all walking around on flat ground.
He thought of this strange dance of the planets, and how if the sun was a fraction closer to earth we would be vaporized in flame, or too far and we would be frozen faster than we could blink. But it all keeps going; perfectly set in motion by God. Soon he found himself enveloped in a peaceful sleep, sleep that had so eluded him before.
Contrary to popular thought, we will not destroy the planet. God will not let us. He put everything in motion and He will be the one who decides when to stop it.
So next time you are having one of those nights, go outside. Gaze up at the moon, focus on the depth of space, the infinity of the stars, the deep silence that speaks of God. He is there, and He is holding it all together and will continue to do so until He decides it's time to start again.....
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Isaiah 65:17
Lori, This post is such an incredible comfort. Like your dad,I too often have a restless, anxious sleep. All those worries rear up when the sun goes down. But this perspective, the God perspective, is such balm for worried soul. Thank you for this grace!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lori, those nights do come. The Psalms are a great treasure and comfort. Someone once told me that we don't look at the stars enough. I can see how sleep comes easily when the 'weight of the world' is lifted.
ReplyDeleteAndie
Thank you both for your comments, I think we would all have a different perspective if we could see our earth from space just one time! I love the Psalms so much :-)
ReplyDelete