The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shewest his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. (Psalsm 19:1-3)
As a child, few things jarred my awareness for the existence of God more than a clear summer’s night sky. The incomprehensible vastness and peaceful sparkling beauty testified of an all-wise, all-powerful God.
The Bible states that on the fourth day of creation, God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also.” (Genesis 1:14-15.) God carefully placed these heavenly bodies in their precise and orderly arrangement. Our own solar system is comprised of 9 known plants, 66 moons, along with innumerable comets, meteoroids, and asteroids. Our solar system is a part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which stretches a staggering 590 quadrillion miles, and contains greater than 100 billion stars. Beyond the Milky Way there is an estimated 1 billion, billion more galaxies making up our known universe. And the grand total of the stars in the known universe is approximately 200 billion billion.
Is it any wonder that we feel very small and insignificant as we stand looking at the stars. Small yes, but not insignificant. The very God that spoke this creation into existence became a man and died on the cross for all mankind. It was love that brought God out of heaven to make earth His home for 33 years.
God fine-tuned the thousands of parameters and ratios within our universe to provide life on earth. Here’s just one example. The precise distance between the earth and the sun needed for life is approximately 93 million miles. Good thing, because the surface of the sun is 11,000 F with a core temperature of 27,000,000 F. If we were only 5% closer to the sun, ocean waters would boil. If we were just 1% farther away, the waters of the ocean would freeze. The Bible is clear; God not only created the universe, but also sustains it. Each day is a gift from God. Our God is awesome and He rightly deserves our praise.
Originally published in the May/June 1999 issue of Think & Believe newsletter. Please call our office or email us at [email protected] for additional resources on these subjects.
