By Chris WittsWednesday 7 Dec 2022Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
Transcript:
If you went to the movies a few years ago to see Apollo 13, you might remember the part played by Tom Hanks who represented James Lovell, who today still fly planes. He works for NASA’s space program, and he’s a very well-known public speaker in the US. Well, he was on his way to the moon and back. And this was in April 1970 the Apollo 13 mission in a tiny space capsule with two other crew members who were about 200,000 miles from Earth.
Can you imagine what that must have been like?
We know that something went terribly wrong, and Apollo 13 was actually the third American manned lunar landing mission, part of the Apollo program. But two days after they had launched there was a problem. They had an explosion that was caused by a ruptured oxygen tank, and the crew (three of them) watched in horror as their air and power gauges went down, and they knew they had to actually shut down all the electricity and power to preserve their life support.
I really wondered whether this was the end, whether they could actually get back.
Well, Houston Mission Control saw all this that happened, and this is what they said to these men at the current conditions. “There is no way that you can return to Earth.” And Jim Lovell was talking about this recently, and he said “That’s when the lead weight dropped at the bottom of my stomach and that searing sensation you get when you know you’re in big trouble and you don’t know how to get out of it.”
Well, history of course, records Jim Lovell actually steer that ship manually without instruments and arrived safely back to Earth. What a wonderful event, actually. And Jim Lovell, a committed Christian. And wherever he travels, he shares his story. He says God is as present on earth as he is in space. What we went through is an example of how God’s work must truly be our own, and he thanks God for saving him and the other crew, and he spoke of the day when he sort of looked through the window. And he said, when I looked at the earth and thought of the problems and worries, and I saw how I could cover up our planet with my thumb through that window. I thought, how vast the universities and how small we are, how fortunate, he said, we are to have the capacity to think about our place in the universe.
Jim Lovell never got to actually stand on the moon, but he arrived back safely, and when he arrived back, he learned that literally millions of people around the world had been praying for him. I think it’s an amazing story, and it reminds me about God’s creation. Have we lost the wonder of God’s creation? We just take so much for granted about the beauty and extravagance of the world. You know, the beautiful flower that you see in the garden or the sunset. These really are marvellous things. They’re part of God’s creation, and we really need to enjoy God’s creation.
David was a man after God’s own heart. We’re told in the Bible, and this is what he said in Psalm eight, when I consider your heavens the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which have set in place. What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him. And in another part, in Psalm 19, Verse one, it says that the heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
It’s true, isn’t it? When we lose the wonder of God’s creation, we lose a lot of wonder about this God who created this fantastic universe that we live in. And these facts and figures are just astonishing, aren’t they that our galaxy has got over 100 billion stars and just stop for a moment to realise that God knows every one of these? So no wonder. Back in 1970 that Jim Lover was amazed at what he actually saw.
And in Romans 1:20 we’re really told. We don’t have excuses here if we deny God Well, it says the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen. They are understood by the things that are made, his power and godhead.
So we can say “Well, you asked me how I know it’s true that there’s a living god, a God who rules the universe, the sky, the sea, a God who holds the creatures in the hollow of his hand. A God who put infinity in one tiny grain of sand, A God whose mighty handy work defies the skill of man. For no architect can alter God’s perfect master plan. What better answers are there to prove his holy being than the wonders all around us that are ours? Just for the scene.” That’s Helen Steiner Rice.
Let’s Pray
Well, Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are an awesome and mighty God. Thank you for the wonderful creation we enjoy. And I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.