He also made the stars.

— Genesis 1:16

For several summers, our family spent time near a lake where we would lie on the dock at night, watching for shooting stars. We would point and laugh with excitement when we saw one. In between those flashes of light, we would grow quiet looking at all the stars that filled the sky. We recognized a few of them, but we had never seen most of those stars before.

In our reading from Genesis 1 today, the sun and moon get most of the attention. But we are told that God “also made the stars.” It’s as if God poked trillions of little holes in the backdrop of the night sky. Even on the darkest nights, when the moon is nowhere in sight, the stars remind us that God’s light is still present. The darkness will not overcome God’s light.

Admittedly, I long for God’s actions in my life to be as bright as the sun, as clear as a full moon, or as awe-inspiring as a shooting star. But I often overlook God’s faithful presence in the background. The stars remind us that God is always there.

This can also remind us that Jesus entered the world on an otherwise ordinary night and that God even used a star to announce his birth. Amazing! There is hope in the darkness because God “also made the stars.”

Thank you for creating stars, Lord God. We need their constant reminder that you are still at work even on the darkest of nights. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.