30th July 2024
The heavens declare
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
Psalm 19:12 (NIV)
The more I learn, the more I am aware of what I do not know. After all my 76 years, I am just beginning to touch on the nature of God and his wonderful creation. How often we are greeted with a revelation by mankind only to have it withdrawn [decanted] down the road? So, is Pluto a planet or not? Did the dinosaurs drag their tail, or hold it up? Is the universe expanding or compressing? Can nothing really exist? Questions, I have many questions still, and I will need an eternity to learn the answers.
The verses in Psalm 19 talk of the heavens speaking to us, but there are no literal words that I can hear or understand. Human beings have been listening for those words from outer space on human-made devices. One such device is called the Arecibo Observatory. The observatory has been listening for over 60 years. NASA’s HARP is trying to decipher the vibrations that ‘Sing the song of the Sun and the Earth.’ They invite citizen scientists to help them ‘understand the complex patterns in the Earth space environment.’ The more we discover, the more we realise the complex nature of God’s creation and how it needs to work together in a specific way, in complete harmony, for Earth and the universe to exist as we know it.
What does this all mean for us? What is the language of the universe? Of God? What is it telling us, and how do we find out if it is not in words we speak or communicate with? I feel it is telling us of the omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God; the all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present attributes of God’s character. God is present everywhere in his creation; including within us. It is the wisdom in his hands, and he allows us to understand as we are able, and to do this in his timing. Day after day and night after night the heavens declare the glory of God; that God is ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ (Revelation 4:8).
Knowledge and information can be very helpful, but sometimes we just need to trust and live this life that we are granted, in the best way we know how. There are those who must tear everything apart and learn of its workings, this is okay, but to trust in God as the flowers do, as the birds soaring in the sky, is also rewarding. God declares his presence and teaches us to live as we are meant to. As we do so, we glorify our maker. ‘They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.’ (Psalm 19:3-4).
Prayer
We thank you, Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Spirit, for speaking to us this language of love that fills us with peace and purpose. Please help us to hear you clearly as we go about each new day. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Anne Gillam
About the writer:
Anne Gillam is a retired Pastor in Grace Communion International, Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA.
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