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Being the lover of patriotism that I am, one of my favorite songs ever since I was a kid has been “God Bless the U.S.A” by Lee Greenwood. The words “proud to be an American” have always encouraged that passion for the land and nation into which God decided we would be born. Unfortunately, a closer look at the lyrics reveals that God doesn’t really get the credit he deserves. While I’ll always love the song, one verse drives me crazy. He says, “If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life and I had to start again with just my children and my wife, I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today ‘cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away”. Seriously, how can your title be about God blessing the country when you credit your “lucky stars” for getting you here? I remember hearing that song with my dad one time and him saying, “Your lucky stars don’t have anything to do with it, man!”

It’s a phrase we hear often in sports and other areas of life as well. When someone experiences a series of circumstances that put him in a position to succeed, it is said that “the stars are aligning” for him. It’s a not-so-subtle way of denying the work of God and explaining it as something else. Some of you may even be in the crowd that likes to read their horoscopes each day. In case you didn’t know, your horoscope is “the relative position of the stars or planets at a particular moment, especially somebody’s time of birth”, or “an astrologer’s description of an individual’s personality and future” based on that position, according to Webster. I’ve always been amazed that horoscopes continue to be printed because the idea of them seems so senseless to me, but the fact that they’ve been printed and popular for so many years indicates a strong level of interest. To me, this shows that people are searching for truth about their lives yet are unwilling to seek the only One who holds the answers. I know believers who read their horoscopes and I’m not saying you are condemned for doing so. However, I challenge anyone who reads them to evaluate your reasons, and then to accept that only God knows your future and only he can reveal it to you if or when he chooses.

God loves to use his creation to send his message. The problem is that the world tends to begin to depend on creation for all answers rather than the Creator. The stars are one of the best examples of this. I’ve already talked about how so many “thank” their lucky stars, believe the stars are aligned for them, or look to the positions of the stars (horoscopes) for answers. While God would not approve of his creation being viewed in this way, the fact remains that he created the stars with a purpose. In my opinion, that purpose has been to send messages at key times. In Genesis 15, the future of the nation of God’s people was on the line. Abram had been told previously that God would make him into a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3), but he was struggling with doubt. He asked God what he would give him as his reward for following him, since he had no children and figured his servant would be his heir (Gen. 15:2-3). God responded by taking Abram outside and speaking to him. “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be” (v. 5). God used the stars as a collective messenger to Abram regarding his promise.

As Katie shared in Monday’s blog, God used the “star from the east” to send the message that the long-awaited Messiah had been born and to lead those who were searching directly to him. This is all recorded in Matthew 2. Then in Revelation 1-3, the “seven stars” held in God’s hand are referenced five different times. Specifically in Revelation 1:20, we learn the mystery that “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches”. In the coming chapters, “angel” and “star” would be synonymous, with the Greek words for each being translated as “messenger”. Scholars can argue how each message was given, but all that really matters is that no matter what, God used his creation to send his message. Whether he revealed it by a star or an angel, both are created by him!

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that God will not reveal a message to you using stars. That would be dumb of me since he has obviously done it before. What I will most certainly tell you is that when he has done it in the past, those instances were considered special revelation. We learned in seminary the difference between “general” and “special” revelation from God. Sometimes God chooses to reveal the same thing to everyone (i.e. his power through a storm), and sometimes he chooses to reveal something to a specific person or group in a specific way (i.e. personal dreams). Therefore, choosing to look at the stars or any other part of God’s creation for answers just because that is the way he sent messages to someone else in the past fails to accept that God is sovereign over all of his creation.

Next time you look at the beauty of the stars, go ahead and appreciate what you see. More than anything, appreciate a God who created such beauty and uses it to send messages to his beloved people. As you think about that, think about what other “messengers” God might be using to get your attention and make sure you are hearing his message loud and clear.