He Who Brings Out the Starry Hosts One by One

We had just finished a delicious meal at Richard and Hellen’s house. They are an amazing couple.  I will need a whole separate post to even begin to tell their story.  After a sweet time of fellowship and prayer our team began to say our goodbyes and spill out of the house into the clear Kenyan night.  I was saying something to Michael when suddenly I stopped mid-sentence and claimed in my dramatic fashion, “Oh m-man! (That would be “man”, but pronounced as a two syllable word for dramatic effect.) Look up!  Look at the stars!”  One by one as they came out of the house most of our group had a similar reaction.  Perplexed by our reaction, George, one of our drivers said “You do not have stars like this in America?”  Someone explained that we do but we can’t see them because of the lights in and around cities.   Someone else tried to explain that oxymoron we Americans call the Planetarium. 

If you have never been way out in the country on a clear evening (or to the Planetarium).  I cannot begin to describe to you what we saw.  I can only tell you that it was truly stars too numerous to count, millions of them, and it was BEAUTIFUL!

I have always loved Isaiah 40:26 which says

 “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.”

I could vaguely recall the few starry skies I saw as a child.  Actually, I couldn’t recall the sight, just the feeling of being awe struck at the display of God’s majesty and power.  My memory of that feeling was enough to help me understand the verse.  Which is good because, contemplating the two stars you can see from my house today doesn’t inspire much majesty.  Calling both of them by name doesn’t sound very impressive.  (Although, making even two stars appear on command is still pretty impressive.)  When I stood outside Richard and Hellen’s house however, that verse came to mind and it carried more weight and meaning than it ever had before.  It was as if God said “Now lift your eyes and look to the heavens, Autumn.  Who created all of THESE?  I call each one forth by name. And because of MY mighty strength, none of them are missing, even when you can’t see them.”

If you ever find yourself beneath the Kenyan sky (and I pray you do) on a clear night, away from the lights of Niarobi, LOOK UP! 

Then try to explain the concept of a planetarium to the Kenyans around you and not feel foolish. “Planetarium…You know…. that building you go inside ……and then you pay money ….and they turn on a special movie……and then you see the stars.”