by the word of the Lord heavens were made

18.p. “Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.”

Psalm 8:3  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?

Psalms 144:3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?

Psalms 111:2    Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.

Romans 1:20     For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Isaiah 40:17    All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

Let’s review a little high school science, shall we? First, a light-year. A light-year is a measurement of distance. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, so a light-year is the distance light travels in one year. If you do the math, that comes out to about 5.9 trillion miles.

So—a light-year is a distance of about 5.9 trillion miles. Obviously, we have no earthly references for such a distance. For example, the distance around planet Earth is only 24,900 miles; the moon is 238,900 miles from the earth; the sun is 93 million miles from earth. None of those numbers come close to the distance of one light-year—about 5.9 trillion miles.

So one light-year is a distance that none of us can really identify with. But that makes the following facts even harder to comprehend.

The galaxy in which planet Earth is found—the Milky Way galaxy—is huge. It contains between 100-400 billion stars, and possibly that many planets. Its diameter is between 170,000-200,000 light-years. Now we’re getting somewhere. One light-year is 5.9 trillion miles, and the Milky Way galaxy may be 200,000 light-years in diameter.

But hold on—we’re not talking about the big numbers yet. Our Milky Way galaxy is part of what is known as the Laniakea Supercluster, a collection of 100,000 galaxies like the Milky Way which stretches out over 520 million light-years. In miles, that is 520,000,000 multiplied by 5,900,000,000,000—a number I can’t compute because I don’t have a calculator that has room for that many zeros! To travel from one side of the Laniakea Supercluster to the other would take 520 million years traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second).

Finally, if you have any breath left, consider this: It is estimated that there are some 10 million superclusters like the Laniakea Supercluster in the known universe.

Is it any wonder that the psalmist, David, wrote, “When I consider Your heavens . . . what is man that You are mindful of him…?” (Psalm 8:3-4) Think about yourself, an individual person. Now think about the immensity of the universe I have just described. God is bigger than the universe He created, yet He knows the number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7)! How is it that God is immense and personal at the same time? All we know is that He is. (David Jeremiah)

God can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Why is it that we don’t surrender and lay at His feet all of those hurts, fears, anxious thoughts, and pain? Certainly, He can do more than we ask or can imagine. He loves us! He sent His son to redeem us! He has prepared a place for us! Don’t let the worries and cares and troubles of this world hinder you from seeing and the awesomeness of God. It is in these glimpses of His majesty that we find new reasons and purpose for hope and faith in Him.

They follow Me

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

“Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.”

Joh 9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Ecclesiastes 9:1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God.

Luke 13:2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Acts 4:21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

Isaiah 26:12 O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.

As much as we want to think we are in control and have it altogether, we do not. We make plans, we do this and that many times without giving God a second thought. While living this side of eternity our culture can convince us we don’t need God everyday. In fact we might not even give Him a thought. Satan would love nothing greater than to have us neglect God and become complacent in our walk with Him. Our purpose is to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Him. With this our purpose this side of eternity how is it possible if we neglect to seek Him, desire Him, listen for His whispers of guidance, and spend time in His word. It is not possible and without placing God first in all we do, all the time, we live a lie serving only ourselves. How do we encourage others in their walk if we do not start first with all our heart, mind and soul seeking Him. Spend time in His word and listen for His whispers of guidance.

Before the world existed

“ And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;”

“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Proverbs 8:22 “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Isaiah 45:12 I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

Hebrews 1:10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

It is hard to understand the awesomeness of God who with the word of His mouth He created all there is. I think about those who have fame and prestige in this world. People will drive or fly miles to just see them at a distance. I am not saying there is anything wrong in going to see them but rather making the point of their fame in light of God and His awesomeness. There is no comparison. We set sports players, performers, leaders in almost higher esteem than God. Some may challenge this but when you think about giving your whole heart, mind, and soul to fully humbly serve, honor, follow and obey the Creator of all there is, it appears there is a gap in our lives. It seems as though we state God is first in our life but in reality He is only first when we are sick, broke, hurt, or need divine intervention or direction. We become complacent and negligent in our walk with Him. Make Him more than a passing thought in your life. Look for His leading each day. Listen for His whispers of direction and follow obediently.