Look Up

October was a stellar month for local sky watchers. There was a rare display of the Northern Lights this far south, a comet streaked across the sky, and October’s Hunter’s moon was a super moon! A super moon is when the moon orbits closer to the earth making it look bigger and brighter. The super moon’s proximity also affects ocean tides. The celestial shows delighted amateur astronomers and the general public alike, lighting up our screens with news clips and photos. Sky scenes look spectacular over ocean vistas!

The firmament draws us upward. It lifts us from the confines of earthly perspectives. The skies give evidence of God’s creation, power, and beauty. Its vastness and hint of infinity may be one of the closest approximations of God’s greatness and is unique in its access to mankind. Not every human will lay eyes on the ocean or the mountains, a desert or endless plain, but the glories of the sky are visible to the seeing from every vantage point on earth. Day and night, the heavens speak of the Divine, drawing our minds and hearts to God the Creator.

It is not surprising that Scripture contains many references to celestial objects and skyscapes. God promised Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars he could see, and there must have been thousands in Abraham’s ancient, unpolluted night vista. David, a shepherd who spent countless days and nights in open fields, wrote inspired praises in response to heavenly sights.
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8 v 1, 3 and 4 (NIV)

Again, in the couplet style of Hebrew poetry, God gave David these lines:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world. Psalm 19 v 1-4 (NLT)

So, look up. Let the endless blue, the puffiest gray, or the deepest twinkling black, fill your heart and mind with God Himself. Jesus challenged his followers with these words, “When these things … come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21 v 28 (KJV)  That’s Jesus’expansive, saving love ready for us.

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*The abbreviations following Scripture quotes indicate the Bible translation used: New International Version, New Living Translation, King James Version.

Author: Brenda Proulx

Wife, mother and grandmother, educator and someone who thinks about the things I observe. I am the daughter of a writer; my dad's career was in the field of journalism. More significantly, I am God's child, a person believing in Jesus Christ and in His timeless Word. Blogging is new to me but I feel like I've always had a pen in my hand. I jot notes in my planner, mark papers, underline verses, write many letters, and occasionally draft articles for work or church. When I am not holding a pen, I am probably cuddling a mug of coffee. View all posts by Brenda Proulx