After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!”
Abram said, “God, Master, what use are your gifts as long as I’m childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?” Abram continued, “See, you’ve given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all.”
Then God’s Message came: “Don’t worry, he won’t be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir.”
Then he took him outside and said, “Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a big family, Abram!”
And he believed! Believed God! God declared him “Set-Right-with-God.”
Genesis 15: 1-6 The Message
“Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it?”
Lord, you set the sun and reveal a silky black backdrop to highlight your shimmering stars.
I love your nighttime creations, Lord.
I search to find the Big Dipper and Orion’s belt.
I wait, hungry to see a meteor streak across your palette.
The twinkling of each star reminds me of the love sparkling in your eyes for each of us.
Count all of your stars, Lord? Impossible! The amount never ends.
Stars visible in the dim lights of my little village.
Stars only seen by computerized telescopes.
Stars born already and not yet discovered.
Stars beyond our wildest imagination in distant places.
All created by your hand.
All too numerous to count.
All reminders of your promises that you will never forget.
All symbols of your infinite and incalculable love.
I can’t count all of your stars,
Lord but I can count on you.
There IS power in just the act of raising our eyes towards heaven. Gives us great perspective. I love your story about that poster. amazaing.
Its amazing at how small our all encompassing problems become when we gaze up at the vastness of God.
When I was a kid, I pulled a poster out of the center of a magazine and hung it on my wall. God used that poster to speak to me for years. It was a photo of space with an arrow pointing to a speck on the poster with the words, “You are here.”
It seems silly to doubt, fear, and anguish over the things that happen in life when you take your eyes off of problems and look at how BIG and CAPABLE God is. I feel the tension leaving already 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Nina. I went out last night and watched the meteors and can’t wait to see them again tonight. Something about gazing at the stars draws me closer to God. Blessings on your week!
So beautifully said, Jean: “I can not Count the strars, but I can Count on You, God!”
Thank you for the encouragement!
Nina
Thanks for hosting the meme each week. I love writing on Sundays using the lectionary. I write it ahead of time then when I hear it at church it has deeper meaning. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for linking to #SundayStillness. This is the same message we had this morning in church.
Blessings,
Janis http://www.janiscox.com
AMEN!
Dear Jean
Counting stars and hair on our head don’t seem to be a problem to our Pappa though!
Blessings XX
Mia