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February 28, 2018 |
“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” Psalm 33:6 (NIV)
Evergreens line the way, and peaks rise and fall as the pavement bends ‘round and then back again, climbing steadily with every turn. I can’t count the number of times I’ve driven this two-lane road that winds from the urban culture of Seattle to the quiet orchards and farms of eastern Washington. It’s stretched to connect east and west, suspended above the rest of the world.
When it snows, the sky is swathed in pink and grey. Moonlight diffuses on the sides of the hills, and the way the clouds hover makes them glow, just before they let the flakes loose to dance.
This is where, as a child, I first came to know the secret stars — the ones hidden in the haze of any city or town, the ones you have to climb high to glimpse. My parents used to set up our bright red telescope in the backyard after dark. They’d pull my little sister and me outside with blankets around us, and we’d go beneath the open sky to take in the sparkling light, shining even clearer in small clusters through the telescope lens. Although we attended church every week, and my parents spoke daily of Christ’s love for us, it was these nights under the stars that captured my imagination for God.
For a while, I even wanted to be an astronaut. I went to Space Camp in the fourth grade because I dreamed of soaring through the universe. Scientists tell us now that they can hear radio waves in space. Really hear them. It’s a bit like the fuzz you hear on old televisions when the screen goes all gray and black — muffled, but it’s there.
Sound, I learned at my local planetarium, precedes the expansion of the stars. Before the universe moves out and onward, before creation expands, there is a noise — or rather, I believe, a Voice. Audible. Present. And now, heard.
“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalm 33:6)
The universe unceasing. The Voice of God never silent. With us.
He commands the stars even now to sing and dance with a tenor so powerful it registers on human technology.
When I purpose to listen and be still, I imagine again the God who holds all things together. Who holds me together. Even when my world feels anything but together.
It is His voice and breath that created the vast wonder out my window. The stars silver light on snow, twirling, commanded to move ever forward by a Voice advancing the expansion of the universe.
The melody of the stars is the Word tucked into my own heart. In moments of rest, God’s song is healing … wholeness and beauty itself, and it revives. Readies.
When I’m drawn close to the Creator of all in stillness, pause and wonder, I can return back into the thick of a busy place and yet keep a peaceful poise of heart. Because finding God’s peace is really about the way He gives us calm — not in place of the storm, but in the midst of it.
Dear Lord, thank You for holding all things together, and that You bring peace and rest in the midst of my storms. Help me remember to find my rest in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (ESV)
John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (NIV)
RELATED RESOURCES:
Stretched beyond her capacity in caring for a large family in the middle of New York City, Kristen Kill was exhausted, depressed and desperate for a change. Then she read the Psalms and found that often all that stood between the psalmist’s cries for help and celebrations of praise was this simple word, Selah. Finding Selah will transform the way you think about work, rest and the little spaces in between that make all the difference and help you embrace the “Selah moments” to encounter the ultimate Selah in Christ, who stands in the gap between heaven and your most hectic of days. Finding Selah will show you hope — not only to sing a new song, but live a new way.
CONNECT:
For more encouragement about how to experience the beauty and rest God offers His daughters, visit Kristen on Instagram or her website, kristenkill.com.
Enter to WIN a copy of Finding Selah by Kristen Kill. In celebration of this book, Zondervan will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and email notifications to each one by Monday, March 5, 2018.}
REFLECT AND RESPOND:
How is God inviting you to steep in the wonder of his love today? How can you quiet your heart to hear the song of love He’s singing over you?
© 2018 by Kristen Kill. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, for their sponsorship of today's devotion.
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Proverbs 31 Ministries
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Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
Originally published Wednesday, 28 February 2018.
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