Blake Long

The night sky shines as I look up at it in my driveway. I marvel at its beauty. I’m astonished at how clear it is, and how many stars are visible. The stars I see are innumberable to count; then I glance at the moon. Amazed; struck; in a trance. I’ve always been fascinated that I can see clearly the craters on the moon though it’s more than 238,000 miles away.

I sit there and think about what I’m looking at. The moon, the stars, the others lights in the sky whether it be a plane or something else (drones? There’s your joke.). I can’t help but think about Psalm 8:3, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

I see the expanse of the heavens, the grandeur of the moon, the complexity and quantity of the stars, and yet my God—the God who created all of this—knows me by my name. And not only that, He loves me. The God who set the moon in its place. The God who knows the exact number of stars in existence. The God who created the sky for it to shine brightly in the night to appear beautiful. The God who made the moon with intricate design as to let it’s beauty be seen so far away.

That God is my Father. He knows me; He is, as David writes, “mindful of [me].” Though I am small in relation to the rich expanse of the cosmos, God created me in my mother’s womb. He knows the number of hairs upon my head. He designed the stars to glorify Him through their appearance; He created me to glorify Him through the desires of my heart by loving Him.

The cosmos are the work of God’s fingers. Creation is the painting; God is the painter. The universe is the building; God is the builder. And yet, behind all of what goes into the universe—moon, stars, sea, sky, land, animals, and more—there’s the God who created me, who redeemed me for a purpose: to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

I walked back inside my home with a humble, grateful heart. Who am I? I am God’s child by grace. Though I am tiny in comparison—though my life is a vapor—God knows me as His son. I look up at the sky again and not only do I know God cares for me, but I believe it.