Look Up

Growing up, I would tune into my favorite radio station every morning where the group of DJ’s would sign off at the end of each show saying in unison “keep looking up, cause that’s where it all is!” I’m sure there’s a story to why they wrapped up every day saying this but it was catchy and it worked. Only now, however, is the meaning of this phrase relevant in my life…only now do I understand how profound a statement this was because of an experience about 2 years ago where I was outside in the pitch black of night and I found myself finally “looking up”.

Of course Ive seen the night sky throughout my life but not until that evening a few years ago did I actually ever truly take into account what was actually up there. Let me back up…I grew up going to church and knowing all there was to know in order to get my golden ticket into the golden gates should I perish but I didn’t truly have a relationship with the Lord…mainly because I didn’t really understand Him or know Him. When I was 14 years old my family and I got to take a trip to Israel and as soon as my plane landed in Tel Aviv, something immediately switched in my heart…my spirit began to understand something on that trip that I couldn’t understand in the Sunday school classes growing up…something no one could have ever taught me…my spirit was awakened on this trip as my eyes took in all there was to see…this place felt different. As I walked through the holy land, the God I had been taught about, came alive for the very first time in my heart and with each step I took I began to understand Him. Something clicked for me while I walked those streets…something became real to me then that I can’t even explain but I think for some people to truly understand such things, we have to see it, feel it, smell it, hear it, in order to truly know it. In Romans 1:20 it says “For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

As I write this, I’m currently surrounded by glorious green mountains and can hear the rushing waters flow down from the snow melted tops…and throughout this trip Ive just marveled over His creation…something I don’t have at home…I live in the burbs of the flatlands and there is not a whole lot of beauty around my parts…so I think I easily forget just how awesome my God truly is…on a daily basis, as I drown in the my daily to do’s, I forget His royalty…I forget mine…

One random night 2 years ago, however, I finally looked up…nothing can hide His glory…no matter where you live…and that night as I observed the miracle of the stars, I got this familiar tinge of hope and excitement as I did walking the streets of Jerusalem. This sense of peace overwhelmed me that night knowing He reveals Himself always because He is constantly seeking after His children…no matter creed, color, age, or gender…He reveals His glory to us all and as my eyes focused in on the bright lights shimmering throughout the dark sky, I (as odd as this may sound) felt so loved by our creator…He reminded me with a starry nights sky that He has not left me, He wants me to know Him, and the mysteries of creation are simply there to remind us all that there is indeed a creator who knows what we do not. We are not just some random residue of an explosion millions of years ago…no way…absolutely not. “The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world!” Psalm 19:1

Since that simple revelation filled my heart a few years ago, I have not been able to stop looking up…it recharges my batteries looking at the majesty of my King…knowing just how powerful my Father is…knowing that the One who calls me His, is the one who holds all the answers to the worlds mysteries and created the skies…He is smarter than any man or guru or science geek that creates some “theory” to appease their curiosities. I love all things space now…simply because to me, nothing holds more mystery than the complexities of our universe, and the Lord I worship knows it all, and that gives me a security I never even knew I needed. “When did I forget you’re the King of the World”*

So, if you’re feeling scared, anxious, sad, or overwhelmed by life’s trials, if you forget who you are… here’s a good reminder that my friends over at 106.1 KISS FM would like you to know…
“Keep looking up, cause that’s where it all is!!” (Amen)