In the Darkness, Light: A Weekly Reflection

Patheos Team

I often think of the heavens your hands have made, and of the moon and stars you put in place. Then I ask, "Why do you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for us weaklings?" ~ Psalm 8:3-4

So I admit it: I'm a big Don McLean fan, so enjoy this rendition of Starry, Starry Night with a great collection of Van Gogh's paintings to accompany it.

I've been spending a lot of time staring up at the sky lately. Maybe it's because the world is a dark and scary place for me these days. Or maybe it's just because the summer sky is so stunningly beautiful in these northern parts . . .

The stars are everywhere. Points of light in the dark sky. Brilliant, luminescent, awesome mysteries of light in darkness. 

In the musical Les Misérables, Javert sings:  "Stars, in your multitude, scarce to be counted, filling the darkness with order and light. You are the sentinels, silent and sure, keeping watch in the night. You know your place in the sky, you hold your course and your aim, and each in your season returns and returns and is always the same."

If you look up into the summer sky, and really just study the stars, you get lost in their grandeur. You get subsumed in the wonder and mystery of it all; you lose your balance, and rediscover your place in the cosmos . . .

But here's the rub: in order to really see the stars, in order to get lost in the cosmos, and in order to really worship the Creator of the heavens and the earth, it has to get really dark first. You can't see the stars in most cities anymore, there's just too much light. You have to get into the woods, out of the cities; you have to embrace the darkness. And then, just when it seems like the world is nothing more than a dark and scary place, if you look up, then you see the Light.

Lie on the ground . . . stare at the stars . . . look for the shooting star . . . make a wish . . . giggle . . . cry . . .

If God can create each of those stars and toss them wildly into the night sky like pennies thrown into a fountain, then what can God do with your concerns and worries? Abandon yourself to God's care, and let God turn the darkness of your night into a beautiful summer sky . . .

Now pray . . .