Would You Like To Count The Stars? You Had Better Get Started!

By Pastor and Missionary Jim Thomson

Have you ever been overwhelmed when reading the Bible? Overwhelmed in a good way, that is.

In a glorious way.

It hasn’t been that long ago when I was reading in Psalm 147 when I paused to think about this verse:

“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names” (Psalm 147:4).¹

When I asked myself how long would it take a person to count all of the stars in the universe if he were to do so at a rate of one per second, I knew I would have to have some help. So, I asked AI. It came up with 317 trillion years. It would actually be longer than that because although a person can say “Ten” in one second, it would take much longer to say, “Three hundred million, twenty-two thousand, four hundred and thirty-six, for example. If we would want to be further astonished, we could then ask how long it would take God to name them. Certainly, that would take even longer. However, we’re asking the wrong questions. He does not dwell in this thing we call time.

I had just been absolutely overwhelmed. The Lord God Almighty is even more wondrous than I had previously thought.

I think David was of the same opinion, because in the next verse he wrote,

“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5).

How can one say anything but “Amen” to that after reading verse four?

If we keep looking through this psalm we will find that we may get a bit dizzy as we read about the wonders of the Lord God Almighty. For example, He makes it rain and the grass grow.

“He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills” (verse 8).

He makes it snow.

“He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes” (verse16).

Then He melts the snow.

“He sends out his word and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow” (verse 18).

So, not only does the Lord count the stars and name them, but He also controls the weather. Please note that He does this by speaking, which is the way He created everything which is what we read in the first chapter of Genesis.

He feeds the birds and the animals.

“He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry” (Psalm 147: 9).

I hadn’t previously thought much about the truth that the Lord actually gives food to all the beasts and birds. He directs them to the prey or the seeds or whatever else it is that beasts and birds eat. As I am writing this, there is a squirrel outside our sliding glass door that goes around during the day, finding the morsels he had hidden earlier in the season. I know that some will say that this rodent “has the ability” to remember where they all are. Right. A squirrel’s brain weighs about 0.21 ounces.² I am quite sure that we, with our big brains, couldn’t remember like the squirrel does, the spots where we had stashed over the course of a few months unless we made a map at the time. But I didn’t notice that the squirrel was writing anything down. And I know that even Christians may say, “God doesn’t do that.” Well, David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote that He does.

We can end our look at Psalm 147 with the first three verses of Psalm 145.

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”

He is our great God and King. We will bless and praise His name forever and ever. Hopefully, we will bless Him every day. The LORD is great, and His greatness is unsearchable.

Yes. Unsearchable.

Amen. Bless His name.

¹All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (2016). Crossway Bibles

²https://scienceinsights.org/how-big-is-a-squirrel-brain-size-ratio-and-function/

Gif courtesy Tumblr.

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I found this post by pastor and missionary Jim Thomson so intriguing that I had to share it with you! You can find his blog HERE

In His Love, Cindy

Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

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