There are times when the pressures and the worries of life smother me. Often this happens when I wake up in the middle of the night with a deep sense of my own vulnerability. I find relief when I wrap a warm blanket around myself and go into the night and look up into the heavens. I lift my gaze and peer at the splendor of the stars. I listen to the song of the heavens as they declare God’s glory. My mind becomes filled with the proclamation of His handiwork. In the splendor of His holiness and His sublime sufficiency I hear an invitation to lay aside my inadequacy and instead to clothe my mind with the glory and the beauty displayed in the heavens.
Psalm 19 speaks of the sun like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man who is running his race with joy. “It’s rising is from the ends of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat” (Psalm 19:9). In the daylight I can feel the warmth of the sun’s embrace. As I consider the life-giving light radiating from the sun, my heart is drawn to the Creator who invites me to bask in His light.
What can revive the soul? It is an invitation to know a holy God through His perfect law. What can make the simple wise? It is the voice of God that has gone out into all the world inviting us to know Him. What can rejoice the heart and enlighten the eyes? It is a holy God who has chosen to show us what is right and to open our minds to what is pure by teaching us His commandments. When some hear words like law and commandments they think of being bound and restrained. However, in the light of His glory I find that His rules are true and righteous altogether. Rather than being a restraint they are a key that sets me free. I find my soul singing with the psalmist, “More to be desired are they than gold; even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey from a honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10).
Having filled my mind with God’s glory, and having considered this invitation to know Him, my heart voices the same question as the psalmist “Who can discern his errors?” There are hidden faults that I cannot see, and for these I ask forgiveness. In the presence of the Almighty God I also ask that He would protect me from presumptuous sins and keep them from ruling over me. I put my trust in who He is and what He has shown me through His word, and believe that He has heard my prayer and that, “I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:13).
Through listening to the heavens declaring the glory of God, the pressures and worries of this life no longer smother me. As I lift up my heart to the light of His presence my focus changes. I go into the day with renewed strength. The prayer on my lips is that both my words and the meditation of my heart would be acceptable in His sight. I have exchanged my vulnerability for confidence in the Lord who is my rock and my redeemer!
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