In †he Moment

The God of Stars and Scars:
Psalm 147

“He heals the brokenhearted, and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name.” [vs. 3-4; NLT]

Sometimes we come to God bemoaning the unfairness of life and crying, “See my scars!” And He simply responds, “See My stars!” His response seems uncaring, until in obedience we lift up our eyes to behold His handiwork in the night skies. Slowly we find ourselves lost in wonder and drawn to worship at the revelation of Who He is. And then we too exclaim, “See His stars!”

Peering deep into the fabric of the universe, God begins to draw our spirit’s attention to one special Star—to “Christ the Morning Star” [2 Peter 2:19]; and the Father whispers, “See My scars.” And we then behold Jesus, the Son of God, on the cross, for what feels like the very first time in penetrating reality. It is not in the stars that we see the greatest revelation of His love, it is in His scars.

“How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!” (v. 5) We look up and see the stars, and marvel at the magnitude of our God; and He can sometimes seem “beyond” our reach. While the stars and galaxies He created may be out of our reach, worshiping hearts are never beyond the reach of the star-maker Himself: “The LORD supports the humble…” (v. 6)

Sometimes the sense of smallness we can experience against the backdrop of the stars in the sky can transfer into a feeling of being lost here on earth. Amidst the countless people around us whose lives seem favored by the blessing of God we can feel nameless and faceless. But as we lift our cries to heaven, God responds, “I know each name behind the stars, and I know your name and have called you into being.” The truest reflection of who we are, and what we are to look like, is seen in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Verse 2 of Psalm 147 tells us that the healing of the brokenhearted involves the process of “bringing the exiles back” and “rebuilding” the place to where they are returning. The God who puts the stars where they belong in the vast universe brings healing and restoration to our lives by bringing us back to the place where we belong and rebuilding again. That healing which God brings to us is not a cold and clinical procedure; it is applied with His personal touch—the touch it takes to apply a bandage to a wound (v. 3). He who counts the stars also keeps tab of bandages. He who calls by name each fiery star in the measureless universe can single out on an infinitesimally small planet your broken heart for healing—for those hands that can hold blazing suns without being scorched were wounded and pierced by our sins and transgressions here on earth.

The difference in stars and scars is only one letter—" t "—and yet through Jesus it connects heaven and earth! 

Be still and know!