The Stars At Night

A few weeks ago, my son Carson approached me and said, "Dad, ya know what?   Everything is BIGGER in Texas!"  I suppose that he is right in many ways, but the fact that he had heard that or realized it after only a few weeks in TX just cracked me up.

This morning I awakened early to go for a run out in the hill country.  As I made my first few strides out into the early morning Texas air, I looked up to see the biggest and brightest stars I have seen in a long time, if not ever.  You know how the song goes, "The Stars at night, are big and bright...Deep in the heart of TX." Well I believe it!  What a beautiful morning!

As I marveled in the majesty of God's creation on my dark morning run, I was reminded of many things.  First, the mountains are His, the Valleys are His, the Stars are His handiwork too.  O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  (Psalm 8:1-4)

Second, in just the same moment that I noticed the bright starts, I was reminded that the night is darkest just before the dawn.  It was very dark this morning and maybe that is why the stars were seemingly so bright.  In life I have noticed many times that the darkest hours come just before the dawn, that our hardest struggles are just around the corner from our greatest victory.

As I ran this morning, I first marveled in the beauty of God's creation and then I thought to myself quickly, "Why are you running? You are going to trip out here because it is so dark.  Be careful!  No one else is running, why don't you just go back to bed or just go sit on the porch?"  However, as I continued to run, I continued to look up at those stars and realized that the darkness of the night was illumined by the brightness of the celestial.  The light of the stars was more than enough to help me find my way.  After running a couple miles, I even found that there were others out on the trail running with me.  This is a journey of faith, but do we ever run alone?

Psalm 88 depicts a dark night of the soul.  Some scholars have pointed to it as prophecy to the death of Jesus and others find it to be foreshadowing to the condition in every man as we walk through life's dark pits of despair.  In my estimation, one of the profound beauties of the Scriptures is that God's Word illustrates the depravity of the sinful state (the dark, deep, forsaken pit of the lost and lonely), but also the bright hope of God's grace.

As you read this blog today, you may feel lost in the darkness (depression, grief, anxiety, doubt, just to name a few forms of darkness).  and I want to offer you this hope.  God's grace is bright enough to lead you through this day.  God's grace will lead you through the valley and back to a mountain peak.  The darkness you feel may cover your path, but the grace of God will light your way.  "Even though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.  Your rod and Your staff comfort me."  (Psalm 23:4)  You may feel consumed by the darkness, but remember the dawn is coming!

Grace unto you!
PC