GETTING STARTED
I was eighteen, standing beneath the stars on a winter night, my breath funneling into the darkness. And, in an instant, I saw with great clarity how truly small I was in the scheme of all life. Here I was—one man, in one city, in one country, in one single moment in time—staring up at a universe so infinite that we will never reach its end. And I realized that perhaps wisdom begins with a healthy fear of God, and a healthy understanding of our place in his shadow.
READ THE WORD: JOB 38:4-11 (ESV)
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
RESPOND TO GOD
This beautiful passage comes after Job had suffered greatly and struggled with and questioned the character and nature of God. God’s response, which I suggest reading in full, reminds Job that our lives as humans truly are an ember that lights up for a moment and then fades away in the wind. But in that brief moment, God gives us a chance to take part in the story he is telling. We won’t be the hero—we aren’t capable—but we can join him, the maker of all things. That’s a truth that can change the life of an eighteen-year-old standing under the stars.
- Ask God to give you a new or renewed perspective of your place in his world. Thank God for allowing you to be a part of his story.