Apples of Gold

Growing up in rural Maine, I enjoyed the vast spectacle of stars embedded within the the jet black canvas of a cool, crisp, night sky. Within our Milky Way galaxy there are roughly 100,000,000,000 stars. The potential number of stars in the observable universe is actually around 200 sextillion. 

Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. Isaiah 40:26

Not only did God create each of these 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, he actually named each of them! When we read, “In the beginning God created”, the awesomeness of ginormous reality often escapes our notice. The methodical process recorded in Genesis 1 reveals God’s thoughtful care in providing a planet that is suitable for sustaining human life. He didn’t miss any details, providing air, food, water, comfort, and even beauty. 

The precision required for the existence of life on a planet is intriguing and quite complicated. Our benevolent Creator designed our location, along with the location of the sun, moon and other celestial bodies, in order to provide an atmosphere that would not only support life, but allow it to thrive. Earth did not randomly wander into this position, sometimes referred to as the Goldilocks Zone, and choose to take up permanent residence. 

Our planet sits relatively close to the edge of the habitable zone. During the 584 million mile orbit around the Sun we never cross the boundary that would make life unsustainable. The moon is in the exact right position to stabilize our wobble, control ocean tides and keep our seasons in check. 

It is no surprise that those who deny the existence of a Creator fear the end of the earth through climate change, alien invasion, nuclear war, or an asteroid collision! In contrast, those of us who are trusting God with the safe keeping of our eternal souls need not fret. He didn’t merely create everything and then walk away. 

As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. Genesis 8:22

If God blinked life as we know it would cease. He keeps the earth spinning, our hearts beating, the sun rising and setting. It is a big job but thankfully he is up to it.

O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your cries? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. Isaiah 40:27-28

When we look around at the chaos around us, sometimes it feels like God blinked. Perhaps this is how Martha and Mary felt after the death of their brother, Lazarus.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:21 

Even the crowd had questions:

“This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” John 11:37

Some translations refer to Jesus as being angry, others say he was in agony or deeply moved. There is no denying this event impacted Jesus deeply. The inaccurate assumptions that he had failed Lazarus and his family, the failure of Martha and Mary to understand what was about to happen, perhaps even the weight of what he would soon be facing and the pain it would temporarily cause those who loved him, and the accusation that he had blinked were all crowding in on him. 

Consider this account of the life of Joseph? Genesis 39 starts out with:

The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did. Genesis 39:2

But by verse 19 he is on his way to prison after being falsely accused of attacking Potiphar’s wife. 

His path to the palace was fraught with suffering and danger and yet he was on the right path and God never took his eyes off Joseph or removed his favor from him. From the outside it looked like God blinked. 

Joseph’s story didn’t end in the prison, actually the prison was the door to the palace. 

During trials and times of confusion we can find ourselves saying Lord, “If only you had been here.” As we stumble around in the dark we wonder if God blinked and didn’t notice what we were walking into. 

We can take comfort from the extensive register of fellow believers who found themselves facing lions, fiery furnaces, angry mobs, and insurmountable difficulties while being smack dab in the center of God’s design and the object of his gracious gaze. 

Yet Jerusalem says, “The LORD has deserted us: the Lord has forgotten us.” “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:14-16

When things are almost unbearable and we find ourselves straining just to keep from losing our footing we can be certain that God is right there with us.  Our story doesn’t end here. And God hasn’t blinked!