My husband and I recently watched a documentary on the Hubble Space Telescope. Even though we’d seen this presentation before, the majesty of what we beheld kept us totally captivated. And as the narrator detailed the numbers that kept growing increasingly immense, the expanse of the heavens clearly pointed to a pretty amazing Creator.
You don’t have to look to the skies to catch a glimpse of God’s greatness. Years ago, Dr. Richard Swenson shared some spectacular facts at a Focus on the Family conference for physicians. For instance, did you know that your body is comprised of 10,000 trillion trillion atoms? This number represents more than the stars in the universe! Did you know the human body has anywhere between 10-100 trillion cells—and it can make up to one trillion new ones each day? Take a deep breath if that blows your mind; when you do so, you’ll have taken in 150 million molecules of air.
These are some big numbers for you and me, but they reveal an even bigger God!
This simple thought helps me when I get overwhelmed in my world. The debt may be climbing, but the Lord who made the stars and calls them by name has everything in control (Psalm 147:4). The rapid rate that information is being processed today astounds me, but it’s only a drop in the bucket to what God knows (Psalm 147:5).
In Psalm 19 we discover that long before telescopes were invented, glancing at the evening sky led David to exclaim “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known” (verses 1-2, NLT). And later in Psalm 139 after he pondered the greatness of the One who had formed every intricate part of him, David reflected on more big numbers:
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up, you are still with me!
(verses 17-18)
How awesome! The heavens are huge, and the human body intricately complex—yet the thoughts God has about you and me cannot even be numbered!
I don’t know about you, but that’s the best big number I can possibly imagine. God thinks about us—in countless ways throughout each and every day. With that in mind, step out into your world with a renewed confidence this month. While the math may not seem to add up, the numbers really are on your side!
Thought of the Month
He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!