Our lives are changing every day. Sometimes it feels as though we’re in slow motion while we watch people quickly come in and out of our lives. We fall in and out of love and move away from the security of home. We realize that the comfortable places we once held so near and dear to our hearts are turning into parking lots, malls and fast food restaurants. Change is a constant in our life.
When I was a child, my brother and I would spend our summer nights playing in our yard, and we’d always end up falling down in the grass and looking up at the stars. We’d lie down and listen to the hum of bullfrogs and crickets in the distance and keep looking up at the stars. We didn’t know much about them. We had no idea what constellations were and how to find planets in the night sky. We just knew that those stars were bright and mysterious, and somehow gazing up at the sky made us feel at peace. I remember gazing at those stars and recalling some promise that God had made to Abraham that involved those stars. I couldn’t grasp that promise when I was a child; I only knew that it was something amazing and part of the reason I was here.
A few nights ago I walked outside, sat down on the side of the road and just looked up. I’m no longer a child, but those stars were still the same, still shining brightly, still just as mysterious and peaceful as ever. I looked up into the heavens and realized that these stars were the same stars I had gazed upon as a child—the same innumerable stars that God has promised Abraham would be the number of his descendants to come.
Abraham was on the verge of extinction when God made that promise. His wife Sarah was barren, and they were both well beyond the age of child bearing. But because of Abraham’s faith, God proved that He was constant and faithful to provide. Abraham and Sarah became parents. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90 years old when their son Isaac was born. Just as God had promised, from this one man, who was as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.
We all have desires and unfulfilled dreams that we wish God would give to us today. Maybe it’s a new job, a new car, a marriage or a child that you are longing for. What we have to remember when we ask God why is that no matter how often we ask, and no matter how He answers … God is still God. His ways are still higher than our ways, and He still desires that we prosper and not be harmed.
When everything around you seems to be out of control, take the time to look up at the stars. Remember that a long time ago, one of those stars was lit for you. That star represents a promise to us all—a promise that God will never change. He is just as faithful to us today as He was to Abraham so many generations ago.
Instead of asking God why, try asking why not? If you really believe that God is good, sit back and watch as He fulfills your wishes, dreams and prayers, just as He sees fit.
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