When the Planets Align...

 

6 Planets Aligned 2025; Farmers Almanac

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.  Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." 

~Anne Frank

🪐 Here's today's good news as we sit in our non-thermal discomfort - the days are getting longer!  We look to the skies for more sunlight, vitamin D, warmth, and happiness to some.  

🪐 And this January and February the world gets to witness another celestial occurrence - six planets will arc in the sky.  Most of these planets are visible to the naked eye on a clear night, and the Farmers Almanac outlines how they'll position at different times, some appearing to "kiss" the moon and each other.  How amazing is it to get a glimpse at the handiwork of God?

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.  Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God." 

Rom 1: 20

🪐 It reminds me of how we can choose to look horizontally and dwell on the circumstances around us, becoming discouraged, confused and disheartened, or we can look up, as Anne Frank noticed, and concentrate on the God of creation, who created the earth out of nothing-

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Gen 1:1-2

It's easy to get stuck on our situations, our lack of control, our seemingly endless barrage of predicaments or heartbreaks.  Our minds think:

    "He/she will never change."  

    "I can't do it, it will just happen again."

    "What good will it do?"

 🪐To will ourselves to be stuck in our situation is the devil's playground; it keeps the downward spiral going. We know that Satan is alive and well, roaming to see who he can steal, kill or destroy.  

But the thing He hates most is us lifting our hands in praise, bending our knees in prayer, laying our burdens at the feet of Jesus who died for all of this.  To seek God and ask from a heart of gratitude thwarts Satan's efforts. We fall on our knees saying:

"Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created." Rev 4:11

 🪐Our Lord created each and every star, planet, and celestial object to exist at exactly the right position so we could live and breathe.  Psalm 147:4 says He even named those stars! That same God also created each of us, in His image, working the intricate systems of our body to sustain life, and placing eternity in our hearts (Ecc 3:11). 

He did all of this so we would come to Him when we needed help, encouragement, and power to exist.  He designed us to need and be fulfilled by Him.  So why, then, are we so hesitant to cry out for help, to give our passions and desires over to Him, and to ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit?

"Ah, Lord God!  It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too hard for You." Jer 32:17

🪐 Our human nature is to be independent and self-sufficient, to be proud that we don't need help and too embarrassed to ask for it.  We want to be the one helping others, but resistant to asking for it when we need it.  

But did you know that God designed us to need each other; to be able to minister to each other as part of our gratitude back to Him?  Sometimes our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are God's help to us.  If we are too proud to ask for help, we are denying someone the opportunity to serve Him in their obedience.  We are stopping the family of God from implementing what He intended-

"Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.  Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon." Is 58:10

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you." Matt 7:7

Don't ever doubt whether God wants us to call to Him - He does.  Let's look up and be reminded of all the detail He put into the elements of His creation, and don't doubt that He is aware of our details and desires to walk us through them.  

Michelangelo's Creation of Adam-Sistine Chapel

🪐 We don't have to wait for the planets to be aligned to see His miracles.

✙ Dear Heavenly Father, we look at Your creation and see Your magnificence and imagination.  We see the intricate detail all around us and in us, and marvel at Your ways.  Please help us to remember Your capacity when we are struggling and see others struggling.  Enable us to be the help and receive the help You send, and thank You for never letting us out of Your sight and care.  Amen.