Stars

When we think of God, we think of the creator of the universe. The beginning and the end. God is omnipresent and omniscient. God sits outside of time and can see all. And we rightly worship a God so great. He deserves our praise and our adoration. By all rights he should really take no notice of us as we are insignificant compared to his glory.

But, amazingly and thankfully that is not how God is. I was sitting around thinking this afternoon about why God would bother hearing my prayers or taking notice of my insignificant problems.

Then as God usually does he placed something in front of me that answered these doubts for me.

Stars by Skillet came on my play-list and listening to the lyrics made me realize that God knows me by name.

You spoke a word and life began
Told oceans where to start and where to end
You set in motion time and space
But still you come and you call to me by name.

Despite the power and the glory of God, he still calls me by name. When I remembered that, my worries didn’t seem so important, or at least I realized I wasn’t in this alone. God hadn’t forgotten me or didn’t think of my problems as insignificant. He remembers my name.

But now, this is what the Lord says — he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” – Isaiah 43:1

No matter how deep despair you may fall into, or how stressed you may feel from life, God never leaves our side.

The deepest depths, the darkest nights
Can’t separate, can’t keep me from your sight
I get so lost, forget my way
But still you love and you don’t forget my name

When we stray from God, stray from the path God has laid before us, he never leaves us. We may not feel God’s presence, but that is not because he isn’t there, he’s simply waiting for us:

Whenever I fall away
Whenever I start to break
So here I am, lifting up my heart
To the one who holds the stars.