Tuesday Together January reflections will be written around the theme: New!
Listen:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Reflect:
There was no moon that night. I sat on the deck in my favorite spot with my face pointed upward at the sky, listening to the hushed song of the pines as the summer breeze played chase amongst their needles. The stars joined us with a heavenly brilliance that stretched out like diamonds across the black expanse. Magnificent! I suddenly felt very small by comparison and insignificant in the grand scheme of heaven and earth. I remember thinking about all the millions of people who had come before me since the beginning of time and the millions that will come after me. Beneath the twinkling canopy that enveloped me I prayed, “How, Oh God, can You know me? I am but a speck in the vastness of creation.” And, that is when it got interesting!
Feeling that our lives have meaning is so core to our sense of well being that relating to a speck of dust can cause an unpleasant plummet. Indeed, it did for me that starlit summer night until, that is, I became aware of God speaking to my heart. He said, “You’ve got it all wrong, daughter. You are looking at things backwards. Come! Sit with Me.” In those gentle moments under the heavens, I felt God redirecting my focus from my finite way of looking at my place in the universe to His face. BOOM! A holy shift occurred from an all about me perspective to an all about Him encounter!
What had once spelled out “speck”, now spelled out “LOVED”, and rather than feeling small and insignificant, I felt AWED
By God and His capacity to know ME among millions!
God’s love spreads out around us all the time! It is star-studded spectacular, pure, and everlasting! The night sky no longer speaks to me of my smallness, but shouts to me of my Father’s GLORY! There beyond the stars He looks back at me as He watches over my life…and yours!
Prayer of Response:
“Father, the stars will probably always take my breath away and remind me of this very night and way you helped me see beyond myself. Help me again and again to seek and find your face. Thank You for loving me. Amen.”
Questions to Ponder:
- Do you believe that God really knows and notices you?
- Have you ever thought about God’s immeasurable capacity to know and love you personally?
- What does it mean about God that He can?
- Do you know how to sit with God? Try it…He’s waiting for you?
—Submitted by Judy Villanueva
lives with her husband in Colorado, near the kids and grands. She completed her masters at Fuller Theological Seminary, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Spiritual Director, and writer. Her Bible reflections can be found at listeningforlove.net