Declaring the Glory of God

I've been reading and thinking about this piece of the Bible:

Psalm 19
For the choir director: A psalm of David.


1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.


God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.

I've spent my whole life enjoying the benefit of the sun, moon, and stars. I used to lie on my back deck or out in the yard looking at the stars at night. I've gotten such a bad sunburn that people said I looked like a red lobster. I love the quote from a popular children's book "I love you to the moon and back." Who doesn't benefit from the ways the sun, moon, and stars illuminate our lives?

Have you ever thought about daily tasks which depend on light? In an age which benefits from electronic light sources, I think we have managed to lose sight of the light the sun, moon, and stars provide. The weekend before my birthday, our region had a lengthy power outage. No power, no street lights. There was nothing to diminish or distract from the light of the stars. Wow, they were gorgeous! My husband and I sat outside and gazed at the stars for a couple hours talking. There was little else to do without light by which we could see!

Psalm 19 states the heavens have a job to do, a message they proclaim day and night. The heavens have spent their entire existence doing what they were intended to do. Their impact has gone "throughout the world." Do you ever wish you had that kind of impact?

The second part of the psalm focuses on the sun's role in the heavens. "The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat." Living in the desert brings a constant reminder of the powerful heat the sun produces. I may hide inside my house with walls and blackout curtains to try and hide from its heat; the sun still relentlessly increases the temperature of my house while my air conditioning unit battles to reduce its effect. When I lived in Colorado, people would marvel at the deep snows that fell in the early spring. Yet, my family's house faced the south so our snow would melt quickly in the heat the sun produced.

The psalmist marvels at the heavens because they accomplish that for which they were designed. They do what they were created to do-declare the glory of God, their creator. Do you ever wonder why you exist or what purpose your life was given? Do you ever feel exhausted and discouraged? I've been there... I've felt depressed because I have spent so much energy and seen so little of my goals accomplished. I've wondered if I am worthless because I see no point in continuing the effort to live another day. But, I've begun to ponder, "Am I really pursuing the purpose for which I was given life? Is this what I was created to do?"

The author of this psalm makes it sound so simple: the heavens declare the glory of God, display his craftsmanship, and make him known. Is that all? Is that what every part of creation was designed to accomplish? Scientifically, we know a lot about life that biology, astronomy, and the other studies have discovered about how things work and how their functions interweave. Yet, there is something amazing about the simplicity of this purpose - to make God known. Is that the ultimate goal of all the intricate complexity and interactions of cells and microorganisms?

With singular focus, the sun follows its course across the heavens, burning and glowing intensely. Sound boring or mundane? Get up, go from point A to point B, and do the same thing over and over and over for years.... The author describes the sun's response to God vividly. The sun bursts forth with exuberance, radiant and confident, like a man who has tasted everything his heart desired and is ready to conquer any challenge. It rejoices with eager anticipation at the thought of another chance to run its course. Do you face your day with that attitude? I know I struggle to feel that way about another morning.

What do the sun, moon, and stars teach us about life? What can I learn from this descriptive imagery? I was created with purpose. God has a place for me in His world and a course to finish. God designed His world, His people to make him known. The heavens do this all day and night without speaking a word. Their mere existence and ability to complete their unique function proclaims the message, "God designed me to give light and heat!" Nothing and no one can hide from this message. Not even the North and South Pole. I have also begun to learn that I can accomplish my purpose with joy. I can face the repetition of my daily tasks with anticipation and eagerness. I was intended to let my life declare the glory of the one God who created me and gave me purpose! I believe this is as true for people as it is for the heavens. Do you?