Dec 06 – Look Up to Heaven!

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

Today, people all over the world look up at the sky – and so do the saints of God. While the action of looking upward is the same, there is a huge difference in the expectations!

The people of the world gaze at the stars and, believing falsely in astrology, anxiously wonder whether good or bad fortune awaits them. But Abraham looked up at the stars and saw in them the promise of God – that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Defence forces of the nations, on the other hand, scan the skies in fear, wondering where enemy aircraft might come from or where missiles and nuclear warheads might fall. Radar systems are placed all along borders, with the help of scientists, to detect danger from above. The world’s expectation, when it looks upward, is of fear and destruction – bombs and war.

But when we, the children of God, look up to heaven, our hearts overflow with joy. The heavens declare the glory of God, and as we behold His creation, we worship the Creator who made it all. The skies inspire not fear, but praise.

The heavens not only proclaim His glory – they also reveal His righteousness: “The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory” (Psalm 97:6).

The apostle Paul writes, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

The people of the world look at creation and see decay and doom. But we, God’s people, look at creation and see our Creator. Scientists use telescopes to see stars and galaxies, but through the eyes of faith, we see Christ beyond the heavens – our Redeemer who ascended and promised to return.

When the men of Galilee stood gazing up as Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels asked them, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Verse for further meditation: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).