Do you ever feel like a nobody?
Like just another fish in the lake? Just another frog in the pond? Just another dog in the alley? Do yourself a favor. Give yourself something I call “Isaiah therapy.”
According to Isaiah, we should pick a clear night, go outside and, “Look at the night skies.” Ask yourself:
“Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name—so magnificent! So powerful!—and never overlooks a single one?” (Isaiah 40:26, TM)
Seriously. When was the last time you really looked at the stars?
I saw the stars last summer. I mean I really saw the stars! I was in Brazil on a mission trip. We had shown the Jesus film in a small village. Afterwards, we shared the gospel and prayed with our Brazilian brothers and sisters. It was an awesome night of ministry. God blessed it.
By the time we finished, it was late. It was dark—very dark. To get back to the main boat—waiting for us in the Amazon River—we had to cross a lake in small, fast skiffs. Flat-bottom motor boats. The driver of our boat drove fast. Not only did he like speed, but he also liked darkness. He had a spot light, but he hardly turned it on the entire ride. Most of the trip across that lake was in black darkness. In the Amazon rain forest! For a while, I strained to see where the driver was going. I didn’t like flying through complete darkness.
But then I looked up.
I literally gasped. It was a very clear night in a part of the world which has “zero light pollution.” For the first time in my life, I saw the Milky Way. A wide band of stars stretched across the sky like a white, fluorescent snake. The number of visible stars was breathtaking. Suddenly, I wasn’t worried about the driver. About flying across an Amazon lake in darkness. I was thanking God for working it out. I was praising Him for the moment. For showing me a display of His glory. His creativity.
“So magnificent! So powerful!” I said to myself.
When I read Isaiah 40:26, I think of that night in Brazil. Why is this ancient verse helpful for people who feel like nobodies? Why is it therapeutic to go stargazing? Because of Isaiah’s point.
What’s the point? What’s the point of going outside and looking at the stars? What’s the point of telling us that God is meticulous about His celestial art? What is the point of telling us that God has actually given every star a name? What is the point of telling us He never overlooks a single one? The point is found in verses 27 and 28. Enjoy…
“Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, ‘GOD has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me’? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? GOD doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.” (Isaiah 40:27,28; TM)
Do you see? God doesn’t lose track of you. He cares what happens to you. He created you—just like He created all those stars. The same hands that stretched out Orion made you. The same Creator who designed the spirals of the Milky Way designed you. The same eyes that see the smallest star in the most distant galaxy in the universe sees you. Knows your name. Knows you. He knows you—inside and out—just like He knows every single star. He “never overlooks a single one” of us.
God’s not tired of you either. He’ll never say, “I need a break from that kid. I can’t deal with his problems today!” He’ll never get tired of you. He sees you. He knows you. He cares for you.
Feeling like a nobody? You’re not. You’re somebody. God put an unimaginable number of lights in the sky to prove it. To remind you of His undying love for you. Go out and take a look tonight.
