The Heavens Declare His glory

Psalm 19:1
Have you ever laid in the grass or maybe your roof, perhaps even sat in a tree, and marveled at the brilliance of the stars? Have you ever, on a clear night, tried to grasp the vastness of God's creation beyond our world and wondered 'where does it end'? It is awe inspiring, and always has been, for me to gaze into the heavens and take in the work of His hands. Ever since I was a young Christian, nothing has stirred my faith more than a clear night, some shiny stars and an amazing moment of awe.

I remember going to see a movie with my cousin Mark, about the stars and planets of our solar system, at the Rueben H. Fleet space center in Balboa Park, San Diego. This was an Omni film that was projected onto a dome ceiling that stretched well beyond my peripheral vision in all directions. It was the largest screen I had ever seen, and I found myself having to turn my head from one side to the other just to take it all in. About mid way through the film, they showed a picture of the earth taken from a distant satellite. The earth looked no bigger than my thumbnail and was only half lit. The entire screen was black except for the earth, and for the first time in my life, I thought I had an understanding of eternity. To this day I cannot put into words how unbelievably awesome that image was to me, and I still wonder if anyone else in that theater was as moved as I was. It was a simple picture of earth in a never-ending sea of blackness. No stars, no planets, no galaxies, just the earth. Yet it affected me more than any other image I have ever seen at that time in my life. Psalm 19:1 jumped to my mind "The heavens declare the glory of the Lord; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" and to this day, I cannot read that verse without remembering that image. It is forever fixed in my memory, a constant source of wonder. It still amazes me that people can doubt the existence of God after spending just a few minutes looking into the night sky. Every star, constellation and galaxy is His residual fingerprint on all creation. For this reason it was written in the book of Romans "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (v 1:20)."

If you have never laid in the grass and marveled at the glories of the Lord, or tried to grasp the vastness of God's creation beyond our world. Then do so tonight. Lie in the grass, climb on your roof, or even sit in a tree, and try to take it all in. Then, maybe as I did, you will learn that sometimes our most intimate moments with God do not come from hours spent in study, sermons preached with passion, or even long-winded devotionals. Sometimes they come from a clear night, some shiny stars and an amazing moment of awe.  [mp]

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Michael D'Urbano
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