"What Was God Thinking?"

Psalm 65.9-10 NASU

“You visit the earth 
and cause it to overflow; 
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their grain, 
for thus You prepare the earth.
You water its furrows abundantly,
You settle its ridges,
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.”

When my youngest children were very young, I read to them a bedtime story entitled Destination: Moon [1] by astronaut James Irwin. They were enthralled. The book contains fantastic pictures and detailed text about the Apollo 15 trip to the moon in 1971. Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Jim Irwin spent a total of three days on the moon driving lunar vehicle “Rover” and collecting one hundred and seventy pounds of moon rocks. Astronaut James Irwin describes an encounter with God on this historic flight:

“The Earth reminded us of a Christmas tree ornament hanging in the blackness of space. As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man, has to make a man appreciate the creation of God and the love of God.”

From a distance of two hundred and fifty thousand miles, the earth “shrinks to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine.” I heard it said that if the earth were the size of a pool ball, it would be even smoother than a pool ball. I wonder…

... from God’s perspective, the earth is really very small… and I am even smaller.

... if you travel a long way from earth (or me), you will not notice its (or my) bumps, ridges, wrinkles, blemishes, or defects.

... God has been known to “visit the earth” so He can “settle [literally smooth] its ridges” and “soften it with showers.” (He visits me for exactly the same purpose!)

Like the earth, I look good (smooth, beautiful, etc.) from a distance. Up close, you are sure to discover bumpy spots, areas difficult to navigate, some dangerous places, and maybe even features that may cause you to wonder, “What was God thinking?”

Thankfully Jesus routinely visits me to ‘smooth out my rough spots,’ ‘soften my hard edges,’ and ‘bless my growth.’
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[1] Destination: Moon, James Irwin and Al Janssen, Multnomah, 1989. This book is out of print but you can obtain it from the Washington County Library or perhaps your local library system.