He Numbers the Stars

Last year our son, Matthew, and I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry together.  It is fictitious story about the Jewish Holocaust during World War II.  The book’s title comes from Psalm 147:4:

“He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name”

At one point in the story, as the Jews are about to escape to Sweden one of the characters reads Psalm 147.  In that moment, a young girl tries to grasp the greatness of a God who can number the stars.

Like the young girl in the story, I am trying to grasp the greatness of a God who numbers and knows the stars by name. Some of the most brilliant minds on Earth have spent decades trying to number the stars. It has been said that trying to count the starts is like trying to count the grains of sand on a beach. Scientists can make estimates or educated guesses, but they cannot precisely number the stars.

I am not a scientist and I don’t have any formulas to make even an uneducated guess. There have been many nights I’ve gazed up at a clear sky filled with stars and I’ve felt very small in comparison. The words of the Psalmist have gone through my mind and I’ve had glimpses of the greatness of the One who could create the world I live in. In those quiet moments I am humbled to think that He not only created the stars and calls them by name, He also created me and calls me by name.

When times feel uncertain and I begin to feel small and insignificant I remind myself that although I cannot fully grasp His greatness, I can fully trust in Him, whatever my circumstances.  Evidence of His power is everywhere, even in my darkest night.