Psalms 19

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:1-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The universe is mysterious, impressive, and so vast that it surpasses comprehension.  It is an amazing example of the power and creativity that our God possesses.  All people on the face of the Earth acknowledge the existence of stars, moons, planets, and other celestial bodies.  All people recognize that heat radiates from the sun and that it dependably rises and sets along the same course every day of every year.  The unfortunate reality is that not all people accept the fact that the universe and everything in it was, in fact, created at one time by a highly intelligent, all powerful, and extremely creative being that we know as our Almighty God.  The Big Bang Theory has been widely accepted amongst scientists as an explanation for the beginning of the universe.  This is largely because of discoveries in astronomy and physics that point to the fact that since the universe is constantly expanding, it must have had a distinct beginning at some point in time.  It is precisely this “distinct beginning” which has been under constant debate since this theory was accepted in the 1960s.  From a Christian standpoint, the Big Bang Theory is just science catching up with what followers of God have known for thousands of years: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).  The truth is, that in the beginning, there was a “Big Bang”.  God spoke.  And when He said: “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night” (Genesis 1:14), the universe was born. 

The vastness of the universe can give us some insight into the question “How big is our God?”. The only estimation we can make is that the Creator is larger and more powerful than His creation.  That is impressive!  Our solar system is a very small part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is 100,000 light years across.  This means that if you travelled at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second, or 671 million miles per hour) it would take 100,000 years to get from one side of our galaxy to the other!  There are approximately 200-400 billion stars and at least 100 billion planets in the Milky Way galaxy.  As extensive as that seems, the Milky Way is actually one of the smaller known galaxies, with the largest (IC 1101) estimated at being 5.8 million light years in diameter!  From what scientists can see with current technology, there are at least 100 billion galaxies, many of them containing trillions of stars.  These numbers are staggering, and in some sense, they are unimaginable.  In Job 38:31-33, God gave us all something to think about in comparing our knowledge, abilities and power to God’s: “Can you direct the movement of the stars–binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?  Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?  Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?”.  “The Bear” is a reference to Ursa Major, one of three constellations mentioned in this passage of scripture, which we can still see today!  This reminds us that God purposefully and intentionally created everything in the universe, much of which has yet to be discovered and understood by the human race. 

Despite the incomprehensible power of our God, the amazing thing is that He still loves and cares for every one of us, and even small details of our lives are important to Him.  Remember this when you are feeling insignificant or when you have problems that seem insurmountable.  The Almighty God gives you your worth, and there is nothing that His power cannot overcome!