Psalm 8:3-4 (ESV)

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Apollo 11 carried to the moon a Goodwill Disc that had messages from seventy-three countries. It was left in a simple cloth pouch in an aluminum case on the Sea of Tranquility in July 1969. At the top of the disc is the inscription: “Goodwill messages from around the world brought to the Moon by the astronauts of Apollo 11.” Around the rim is the statement “From Planet Earth—July 1969”. The Vatican submitted the text of Psalm 8, making it the first Biblical text to reach the moon.

It is hard to grasp the immensity of space. For example, our galaxy – the Milky Way – is where our “little” solar system makes its home. Within its diameter of 150,000-200,000 light years it is estimated to contain between 100-400 billion stars…one of which is our sun. The Milky Way exists amongst a sea of roughly 10 billion galaxies that we know of…and it is estimated that there are about 100 billion stars in each galaxy bringing the total number of stars in God’s heavens to about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (that’s one billion trillion). Our ability to grasp all of this is limited, to say the least, but one thing is perfectly clear: mankind is the most prized possession of the Infinite God who created every single bit of it.

Do you struggle with insecurity? Do you struggle with feelings of inferiority? Do you doubt your self-worth? King David possessed no scientific knowledge about our own solar system, let alone the Milky Way or the universe in general, yet he could easily observe the dichotomy between the awe-inspiring size and complexity of the night sky versus the tender and deeply personal care of its Creator when it came to his small and seemingly insignificant life on earth. What is man that you are mindful of him, indeed!

Our Heavenly Father sets us above all of His creation in terms of his interest and love. He is far more concerned with your day-to-day challenges than he is with the conditions throughout the natural universe. He was willing to leave the grandeurs of heaven to come live in our sin-infested home in order to purchase your salvation and mine (Phil. 2:5-8). The God of the Immense is also the God of the Intimate…the God of the Close…the God of Love and Compassion and Kindness. The God of Everything is mindful of YOU! The God of Everything cares deeply about YOU! In a sea of one billion trillion stars, each and every one of His children shines the brightest…one of which is YOU. Think about that from time to time.