Genesis 15:5 - Counting Stars

The other night, the sky was especially clear--particularly during harvest season when there's a lot of dust in the air from combining. There were constellations that I hadn't seen in a while, like my favorite: the unmistakable cluster of The Pleiades. It was a wide expanse of darkness sprinkled with stars and galaxies. I felt ...tiny. Almost insignificant.

Abraham was told by God that he would have innumerable descendants, despite that fact that he and his wife were too old to have children. To make His point, 
"God took Abraham outside and said, 'Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'" (Genesis 15:5, New American Standard, 1995)

When God said, "IF you are able to count them," He was reminding Abraham of how small he was in comparison to God and His creation. He wasn't trying to make Abraham feel worthless. If anything, it was to say,
"Despite how small you are in relation to the universe, I love you. I will take care of you and your family, even though you don't yet have a family."

As Psalm 8 is quoted in Hebrews 2:
"What is man that you should think of him, and the son of man that you should care for him? For a little while you made him lower than the angels and you crowned him with glory and honor...." (Hebrews 2:6-7, NASB95)

Father,
We need a sense of our place in the universe. Remind us that creation is so much bigger than our tiny concerns of the day--and yet we are constantly in Your thoughts, always held within your care. We gratefully find peace, confidence and courage in Your immense love. In Jesus' name, Amen.