He Counts the Stars

He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great He is! His power is absolute! His understanding is unlimited. (Psalms 147:4-5, LB)

What a beautiful, inspiring scripture. As we read these verses we can picture God standing in the blackness of the nighttime sky surrounded by white twinkling stars crowding around Him like sheep drawing close to their shepherd. As He calls each one by its pet name, each in turn gives Him its full attention. We see in these two verses a God who is not only loving and gentle but also powerful and all-knowing.

Yet, I believe that few of us ever take the time to really consider the full implication of these words. We know that there are a lot of stars, but just how many stars are there? No one knows, and because of the way that God designed the universe, no one will ever know, but that has not kept some of the best qualified scientists from guesstimating. I have, therefore, done some research so that I may share with you some of the best estimates from some of the most respected estimators on this subject.

Astronomer William Keel based his estimate of the number of stars in the universe on a formula by which he estimates the number of stars in the Milky Way and multiplies that number by the estimated number of galaxies in the universe.  Keel estimates the number of stars in the Milky Way at 400 billion but says that estimating the number of galaxies in the universe is a whole separate problem.

Other star estimators set the total of stars in the universe at 3 thousand million billion (3 followed by 16 zeroes).

I personally like what NASA has to say about the number of stars in the universe, “There are zillions of uncountable stars.”

Whatever the number of stars in the universe may be, we can be sure that it is so vast that we cannot comprehend it because it reaches so far beyond our human understanding. And that, I believe, is precisely the point. With one glance at His universe, God counts the stars. Whether that number is in the billions or the zillions makes no difference. He sees them all, and He has numbered each one.

Then, God calls each by its own pet name. We humans have trouble keeping our own children’s names straight. What parent has never stood staring at his child and called him by his sibling’s name? But not God. He knows each star by name, and He calls them to Him.

Yes, He is great, His power is absolute, and His understanding is unlimited! We can no more comprehend His power than we can calculate the number of stars in His heaven. Yet, we become afraid; we fear that He will not provide for us; we feel that we should not “bother” Him with our petty problems. We try everything else before we resort to prayer, as if petitioning our Heavenly Father is to be reserved for only the most hopeless situations. Our attitudes are often, “I’ve tried everything else. I may as well try praying.” Unfortunately, by the time we decide to pray we have often already conceded defeat.

We are coming to the close of a very difficult year for many Americans. Most of us believe that the new year will not bring a successful resolution to the problems that we face as a nation, as families, and as individuals. As a result, we are fearful of the future.

I encourage all of us as we go forward into this holiday season to remember that this mighty God who counts the stars and calls them all by name loved us so much that he stepped down from His throne to become flesh so that He could experience life the way we do. He was tempted in every way that we are tempted, and He suffered in every way that we suffer so that He could fully understand what it means to be human. When Jesus experienced temptation and suffering, He always responded the same way—He prayed. He never said, “I’m not going to bother God.” He prayed. And when He prayed, He knew that God would answer.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. (You always hear me, of course, but I said it because of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.)” Then He shouted,” Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:41-43, LB)

Jesus set an example for us for all time. Part of that example was the way in which He entered into prayer. He always prayed about everything. And He always prayed knowing that God heard His prayers. He prayed aloud to teach us that the same God who counts the stars and calls them all by name, sees every detail of our lives and calls us by name so that we can enter into His presence and experience the peace and safety that only He can provide.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.