“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
- Psalm 19:1
I have to be honest. I was not planning on writing today’s devotional. But, after witnessing that miraculous and breathtaking event of the total solar eclipse, I could not, not write something.
If you witnessed it, it was incredible. I was mesmerized as I watched the moon slowly cover over the sun as I stared through my approved solar-eclipse glasses. I was filled with wonder as the temperature began to drop as the sliver of sun creeped ever smaller behind the moon. And finally, I was in awe when the moon totally eclipsed the sun and displayed that gorgeous and brilliant ring that surrounded the sun. The sky went dark. Some planets and stars were visible. I heard the soft symphony of the crickets against the backdrop of the absence of birds singing. I have never experienced anything like it before and I am so grateful that the Lord gave us a day where the sky was relatively clear from clouds to witness this once in a life-time event (unless of course, I go chasing solar-eclipses, which does seem very appealing).
Did you know that the sun is 400 times larger than the moon and also 400 times more distant from the Earth than the moon? In other words, even though the moon is much smaller than the sun, when they align just right, the moon can block the sun. I heard someone say that these numbers are a “crazy, cool coincidence.” But really, this is not a coincidence at all, but rather the very work of our awesome Creator. Only a limitless and incomprehensible Creator could make the numbers just right so that night becomes a reality for a mere three-minutes during the day. This is astounding and far beyond the means of chance.
But this simple statement about a “crazy, cool coincidence” points to what Romans 1 articulates, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom 1:19-21, 25).
And here is another truth we can glean from this event and scripture: God wants to be known and therefore, He reveals himself to everyone, everywhere as Creator and he does this in and by creation. The human heart is made to know that He alone is God and thus give him praise and honor and glory for what He has made. And yet, many fail to do so. As Romans 1:18 clarifies, it’s because they suppress the truth. Said differently, everyone everywhere sees God’s handiwork in creation and yet some will acknowledge that there is a creator behind it all and others will suppress or ignore or squelch that truth. And for those that ignore what God has revealed (namely that He is Creator) they in turn, will worship what is in creation.
In these next few days, people will be buzzing about the awesomeness of the total solar eclipse; may we be quick – clothed in humility and love (1 Peter 3:15, Col 4:6) – to point people to our awesome God. That it was by His spoken word that the heavens and the earth and the sun and the moon were created and given their places in outer space (Gen 1:1-6, 14-19; Isa 44:24). That what they witnessed was not a “crazy, cool coincidence,” but rather that it was the handiwork of God. And that this God made all things in creation to point to Him so that all may know Him as Creator.
And evermore beautifully, God’s desire for them to know Him as Creator is eclipsed by His longing for them to know Him as Redeemer (2 Pet 3:9) and therefore sent His son so that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Gal 4:4-6, Heb 9:15).
Prayer: Lord God, your work is incredible! Only you can create the perfect dimensions and distances for such a miraculous and breath-taking event. Thank you that we get to enjoy these wonderful gifts of creation, but guard our hearts so that we only worship you and not your creation. We lift up those who need to know you not only as Creator but also as Redeemer. Give us boldness to speak truth when the opportunity arises. Help us to be sensitive to the Sprit’s leading. Amen.
Hymn to Sing: “All Creatures of our God and King”
All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voice and with us sing,
“Alleluia! Alleluia!”
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
thou silver moon with softer gleam,
O praise Him, O praise Him!
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
