Genesis: Count the Stars
"Look up at the heavens and count the stars -
if indeed you can count them…
So shall your offspring be."
Genesis 15:5
These were God's words of promise to an old man who had long ago given up hope of having a son of his own. "Count the stars." They are also good words for us as we prepare to celebrate another Thanksgiving Day.
The story is told of a pastor who, years ago, used to visit a young girl with curvature of the spine. She practically live in a Phelps box - a shallow, coffin-like box intended to correct her spinal problem. Strapped in as flat on her back as possible, the young girl managed to keep an unusually good attitude about her plight.
“I play with the stars.” she told her pastor of her nighttime insomnia. She told him that she assigned to each star something she thanked God for. “But”, the young girl ended, “there aren't enough stars to go around!” Wow! Scientists say that 1,029 stars are visible, on a good night, to the naked eye. Count them! And with each star tell God of your gratefulness for something he has done. “Count your blessings! Name them one by one!” Count, until you run out of stars.
© 2004 Donald D. Reigstad