July 23 – He’ll Heal All, Large and Small

 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.   He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.” - Psalm 147:3-4 (ESV)

 

This is a wonderful reminder of how God is involved in our lives as His children. This psalm speaks of His response. He knows how to give us the help we need and to bring healing – to restore our spiritual health.  The context of these verses is the return of the Children of Israel to Jerusalem after 70 years in captivity. These words of praise are about how God cares for his own and about his knowledge as Creator God. God has given all the stars their names – not the names we use but the names given when He created each one. It is beyond our comprehension but He knows how many stars there are, something we’ll never know. Our verse mentions the wounds we suffer at times. They might be small wounds or large wounds. No matter the causes, God knows just how to bring healing.  And our verse also mentions hearts that are broken. Our wounds might be more serious hurts but God can take care of them too and bring complete healing. So whether our hurts today are large or small, let's allow God to do the healing promised and we know He can do.

 

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November 17 – Uncountable Wonders

“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.” Psalm 40:5 (NASB) 

“As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant…” Jeremiah 33:22 (NASB)

Let’s think about the times we have been outside at night looking up at the stars. Ever tried to count the ones you can see? Most of us have at least once. Men like Brahe, Kepler and Galileo in the seventeenth century gave birth to modern astronomy. Up to that point Hippocrates had said there were 1,022 stars. Ptolemy said, “No, there are 1,056.” Kepler said, “You’re both wrong.  There are 1,055.” If they had read Jeremiah 33:22 and Psalm 40:5, our verses today, they would know that the stars and other wonders of God can’t be counted. Those of us who are true followers of God can remember times when God has shown his greatness as He takes care of our needs. We know of His greatness for others who believe His words. As David wrote the words in today's verse and He was thinking of what God had done⸺already now many centuries ago. God has never ceased to show Himself in the same way and does so all the time throughout the centuries. The promise we carry today is that no other person or entity can compare to Our God, He is the only One.

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September 28 – Insightfulness and Wisdom

“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3 (ESV)

We may not fully understand all that these words mean, but they do convey an impression that is meaningful.  Those who are wise are those who have true insight by faith in God's Word.  This does not apply only to robed leaders and skillful preachers but to others, to us.  The Promise here is that those who trust the Lord and follow Him closely have a bright and glorious future.  Included in this is the work of proclaiming the righteousness of God so that others may be persuaded to believe.  We know that our God is a God of Glory.  Heaven is a glorious place and God is planning to share that glory with us if we continue following Him and doing His will here on earth. God will know it and will share His glory with us and we will become like stars reflecting the glory of God.  The faithfulness of our witness will determine our eternal capacity to reflect God's Glory.  Be wise in God's promises today. 

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July 31 – Not One Goes Missing

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?   He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name.  Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40: 25-26 (NIV)

The prophet Isaiah recorded many words which the Lord God gave to him. Some of the words are recorded to teach us of God's majesty.  In the first verse we have today, the prophet records a question given to him by God. The next verse records the answer Isaiah gives to this question.  We may not see as many stars as the prophet could, depending on where we live these days, but we can know what he means.   Our God knows and has a name for each celestial body in the universe, after all, He did create each of them.  It is God who is in control of the universe keeping everything in balance and on schedule. This is our God and He also knows each of us and just as He has a name for each star, so He knows our names too, and He knows our needs today.  Comfort, encouragement, strength, guidance, and whatever else we need, we are promised that He does not overlook us.  Just as not one star can go missing because of His great power, we will never go without what we need from God.  

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September 28

“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” Daniel 12:3 (NIV)

We may not fully understand all that these words mean, but they do convey an impression that is meaningful. They tell us that those who trust the Lord and follow Him closely have a glorious future. We knew that our God is a God of glory. Heaven is a glorious place and God is planning to share that glory with us if we continue on following Him and doing His will here on earth. Others around us will be affected. God will know it and will share His glory with us.