Same sun, same stars, same God…

Growing up in a Pastor’s home gave me a great education on God’s faithfulness through Sunday School lessons and other church services. I learned of the heroes of faith and the faithfulness of God to those heroes as they lived their lives in surrender to the Lord and their calling. There were so many amazing stories – so many miracles. Close your eyes and try to remember the amazement the first time you heard these stories:

Do you remember the first time you heard, “And God said, ‘Let there be light’.” The wonder of how God created the sun, moon, stars, plants, animals and us – simply because He loved us?

Do you remember the story of Noah building the ark? About the very first flood on earth? How about the rainbow of God’s promise?

Do you remember how Moses faced the evil king? Do you remember the miraculous plagues that came as a result of the king’s disobedience? What about when God opened the sea wide enough to allow an entire nation to pass through unharmed on dry sand, then closed in time to engulf the enemy that was hot on their heels?

What about Samuel? God spoke to him and called his name out loud!

Do you remember when Elijah was afraid and running for his life? God provided food delivered on raven’s wings and water from an angel to keep him from starving.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, sentenced and imprisoned unjustly. But then he became the king of Egypt’s right-hand man through the wisdom and favor given to Him by God.

Do you remember Abraham? He and Sarah longed to have a child. God brought Abraham out under the open sky and said “Look up”. “Do you see those stars?” “Can you count them?” As many stars as there are in the sky – that’s how many heirs you will have. Generations will call you father. And then, when all hope seemed lost – when they were too old to have children, Sarah became pregnant and their son was born!

Do you remember the warrior Joshua? Fighting in a battle against his enemies, he prayed to the Lord to stop the sun and the moon from going down for a full day. And God stopped the sun and the moon from going down and the battle was won.

Wow! How amazing! But sometimes those moments in history seem so far away – just stories. When our everyday life becomes our focus – our routines and responsibilities, we lose sight of how amazing our God is. We forget that as Creator of all that exists, He can literally move heaven and earth to help us.

I was having one of those moments, okay more truthfully, one of those months. Responsibilities and routines had my gaze fastened at the floor and my mind a million miles away from thoughts of miracles. I kept saying to myself…

“How am I going to pay this bill?”

“How am I going to meet this deadline?”

“How will I work this relationship out?”

It seemed as though God tapped me on the shoulder. And I heard Him whisper in my heart, “Look up”. On a day that my mind was clouded and dark I suddenly saw the bright sunshine. I felt it’s warmth and smiled. Quietly, the Lord said to me, “Gina – this is the same sun that I held still for Joshua. And when you go home tonight and look up at the night sky, you will see the same stars I showed to Abraham when I promised to make His dreams come true. It is the same sun, the same moon, the same stars and I am the same God today that I was then. There is nothing too difficult for me and nothing I would not do for you.”

Wow! What peace! What joy! What confidence! So today, if your feet are dragging along and your eyes are fixed on the ground, look up! Over your head is the same sun, the same moon, the same stars and God is still the same God. And He will take care of you just as He took care of all those who have gone before you.