Day 12: Stars
A few years ago, my husband and I visited a star park. It is a real thing. There is so much light pollution now that someone had a brilliant idea to quarantine land.
We woke up at 5 AM to see the stars before sunrise. This was the only time there would be clear skies while visiting the area. The park was pitch black except for some infrared lights marking the trail. We made our way down to the water’s edge and I was certain something would jump out of the bushes.
Finally, the trail opened up and we stood on the shore. It was so bright that I thought someone had a flashlight. Then I realized the light was coming from the moon. It was reflecting so much light that it cast my shadow on the ground. I looked up and saw the sky filled with stars. More than I could count. Large, small, some clustered together.
There is an app for your phone. If you hold it up it towards the sky, it will tell you the name of the constellations you are seeing. Some of them I did not recognize, but others were familiar to me. We stood there for the longest time mesmerized. We were seeing stars that had been there for generations. These stars were maps for those who traveled by land and sea. God created the sun to rule the day, but He created the moon and stars to govern the night. We would have stayed until sunrise if it wasn’t so cold.
We have polluted the night with so much man-made light as if to say we do not need God when we are walking in the dark. God gave us light to lead us, but we have created our own and God has become unnecessary. I am not saying we should not be creative. But I am saying that God is much bigger than the darkness. Literally and figuratively.
God’s light is bright enough to light up the sky and to shine into the dark seasons of our lives. However, sometimes our own cleverness gets in the way. It pollutes our ability to see what He is trying to show us. I am asking myself this question today: how is my self-made light polluting my ability to see what God wants to show me? How is my own cleverness getting in the way?
It is good to be stripped of our resources from time to time. It let’s us see how God still provides. Today, ask God to show you how you might rely upon Him more. Ask Him to give you light for the dark places in this season.
