Many people enjoy stargazing, though it’s certainly not easy to do in a metropolitan area like Santa Clara, where the city lights tend to dim the natural ones. For this reason, one of my favorite childhood memories of our family’s annual camping trips was the short hikes we took at night. I still recall, after several years of camping in the same area, the small clearing that we found not too far from our campsite, covered in pinecones and needles, that we claimed as our own stargazing spot. We would turn out all our flashlights and look up, competing to see who could find the brightest star or identify the most constellations. 

Looking up at that inky black canvas covered with stars and framed by the silhouettes of the pine trees surrounding our clearing, I remember the awe I felt at the vastness of God’s creation.

I’ve heard some say when they look up at the night sky—at the glowing moon and countless glimmering stars—that they feel a sense of insignificance. The realization that there is so much more to the universe than their own small bubble of existence takes them by surprise.

While I agree that I do feel small when faced with the enormity of our universe, I can’t say that I’ve ever felt insignificant. 

I don’t say this with pride—one of my favorite passages of Scripture gives me my reason. David wrote in Psalm 8:3-5, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”

The psalmist had the same thought that many have had: when faced with the immensity of creation, what is man? In the grand scheme of things, of what consequence are we? But the best part of this psalm is what follows: God is mindful of us! 

Though yes, our lives are small compared to eternity, and we ourselves are small compared to this massive universe, we have never been insignificant to the Lord. Since reading that psalm, every time I consider the heavens, I think not of my smallness, but of God’s loving attention to each small part of His vast creation. 

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Lauren Morris

Lauren Morris, GSBC Professor

Mrs. Lauren Morris is a graduate of North Valley Baptist Schools and Golden State Baptist College. She is an integral faculty member of her college alma mater and is responsible for training the next generation in the subjects of English, education, and music. Mrs. Morris is also heavily involved in the music ministry of North Valley Baptist Church and has been faithfully serving on staff for many years.