Did you know that in our galaxy the Milky Way, there are over 300 billion stars? And that’s not counting other galaxies. That’s an incredible amount of stars. Do you know how personal that is to God?
“He counts the stars
and calls them all by name…”1
If the stars are that personal to Him, how much more interest does he take in you? A lot.
”What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.”2
That’s getting pretty personal – even my hairdresser doesn’t know how many hairs are on my head (and I doubt she’s going to count them any time soon!)
The point is, and it’s very simple, God loves you more than all of his Creation. So much so that He died an anguishing death on the cross, endured untold suffering, and then rose again from the dead – just for you. There’s no more personal sacrifice than that:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone (and you can put your own name in there) who believes in him will not perish (die) but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”3
How does that relate to you? If you want to have a relationship with a God who takes this much personal interest in you; then you can respond back to him. He has already ‘shown his hand’ to you by the actions that He has already done through his Son, Jesus, as shown above, which paves the way for me to now respond back to Him.
There’s no magic formula to have that relationship with Him. One simply responds back to God, as His word says:
“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…”4
It’s that simple; you have to but believe, and tell Him so. When you believe in something or someone, especially as much as He believes in you, you will want to live for Him and Him through you. What does that mean? It means that once you’ve said “I believe”, God comes into your life and changes you from the inside out. As you get to know Him through talking with Him (called ‘prayer’), reading His word (Bible), and getting together with other like-minded believers to encourage you and you encourage them – you will become more like Him (a lifelong process until you get to Heaven) and know Him and love Him better and better.
The God who calls the stars by name is calling your name, too.
“Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.”5
Readers are invited to write Gloria at: gloriawes@hotmail.com and I would be glad to get back to you.
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More great pieces from God’s word:
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him (Jesus), and the sheep (you, when you chose to believe in Him) recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”6
“He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord! His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!”7
Footnotes:
1. Psalm 147:4 NLT 2. Matthew 10:29, 30 NLT 3. John 3:16, 17 NLT 4. Acts 16:31a NLT 5. Acts 40:26 NLT 6. John 10:3 NLT 7. Psalm 147: 3-5 NLT (all italics mine)