I have been thinking a lot about stars lately, and one thought especially has been bearing hard on me. I have been thinking that the stars we see today have been there, twinkling, ever since the day God created them. The Bible in Genesis 1:16 says simply that after God had made the sun and the moon, “he made the stars also”.
Nothing about them has changed. Now, I know modern-day astronomers are telling us about how stars are being born and how others are dying. Of course, astronomers use powerful telescopes whose capabilities I have no reason to question. But from my uninformed village deep in the sub-Saharan bush (literally), all I know is that when I look up at night I can see stars exactly the same way that I have being seeing them ever since I was old enough to begin making out things.
There is a band of stars, for example, that I have become very familiar with. It is a thick band, almost like a cloud, and it rises from the east at about 7 p.m. and many times I just sit outside my house for hours and watch it crawling across the sky. Sometimes my family have a hard time calling me in for dinner!
I have also noticed how the stars emerge with the gradual onset of darkness; they emerge one by one. One very bright star emerges first and soon, by around 8 p.m. the sky is awash with them.
But the really important thing that I have been learning about these celestial bodies is the patience of God. He has allowed them to rest exactly the way they are for thousands of years. I wonder, God is so patient! Now, this post is not about us and patience. For now, let me simply invite you to savor the great wonder of the great patience of God.
And right here please allow me to send my love to all who might be reading this blog right now. And may I remind you that God is deeply patient with you, too. May the Lord bless you.
[Below: My camera couldn’t capture the stars, so I settled on the moon instead.]
Cross of Christ 
how much do I appreciate God’s patience. If only others were as patient with me!
Same here, Nate. Or, even much better (for me), if I were as patient with others!
yes, me too
Cameras sure don’t capture the beautiful stars that are too far away. Even when I wanna take a pic of when the moon appears huge, it still seems so small in my picture. At least the experience of having seen such beauty in the moon and stars remains in our memory. It’s interesting that in some parts of the world (like in Wisconsin), the stars are so far that they look like only few. But in other parts of the world (like in Guam, where I’m from), the stars are brightly shining, no?
So true. I also believe the people who live in cities miss out a lot on this because of the lights (and also there is so much activity going on on the ground that one hardly thinks of looking up!)
Great post and thought. Thanks!!!
Thank you Levi!
Very good point. I have never considered the patience of God in the context of the universe, but I certainly will from now on! Lord bless you.
Thank you Rob. The incredible point really is that if there is anything worth pondering in what I have written, then it must be God who is at work, not me!