Have you ever gone for a ride in the country at night? Not just to arrive at a destination or to do some task or other, but just to get away from the lights and sounds of the city. If you have never done so, then take a quiet, clear night and just leave all of that behind and go. Pick a place with a clear view of the sky, clear of clouds and trees. Just look up and see the lights of the stars and maybe a planet or two. In the musical, “Les Miserables”, Inspector Javert sings of the stars in the heavens, how they can be counted on to return, season after season. And so they do, each season, one after the other.
Down through the eons, people planned everything from planting and harvesting to ceremonies in celebration of important events and festivities. The stars can give us time and direction. With a little education, watching the march of constellations across the night sky can tell us the time. For direction, we can always count on Polaris, the North Star. Its position remains constant as the others move around it.
Just as Polaris is constant, so also is the God who placed it there. As our lives revolve around him, throughout the years from childhood to adulthood and to the end of our days, the one constant point of reference is God. He is always there, always listening and doing, providing guidance as we navigate the oceans of our lives.
Some people think that God doesn’t hear us or doesn’t answer us in our time of need. We expect an earthly response when that isn’t how he operates. We have all tried to make a deal with God, asking him to give us a sign, like performing some kind of spiritual magic trick just for our entertainment or as proof that he is there. While we are waiting for the sign that we tell Him to give us, he answers in his own way…and in his time, not ours.
Do you really wonder if he hears us and wants to help? When was the last time you were having a crisis and didn’t know which way to turn? All of a sudden, a friend calls to talk to you and ends up steering the conversation towards the very subject that was causing problems for you. How many times has it been that you haven’t talked to that friend in a very long time? Why did he or she pick that day to call you? Perhaps it wasn’t a friend but rather a total stranger, one you will never meet again, and the conversation somehow comes around to the very words you need to hear to resolve your problem. Coincidence? Not hardly! It’s just God lending a helping hand in his own way, providing us with an earthly listener, so that he can help us. Most of the time, we don’t even make the connection between our need and God’s helping hand.
Take time away from those necessities. They really aren’t so necessary that you can’t escape to the country. Look up at the beauty and majesty and order of all the stars above you. Think about all of the stars and constellations that can be seen only from the Southern Hemisphere. There are thousands you can see and millions that you can’t see, all in their place, returning again and again. When you do, let yourself feel the awesomeness of God and be amazed at the order of all of those twinkling bits of light.
If God has taken such care of the stars, how much more care is he going to take of you, the greatest of his creations? If you haven’t made him the Polaris of your life, then don’t you think it is time?
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