[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during August 2023]
Towards the end of last month, NASA lost communications with the Voyager 2 inter-space probe. The BBC reported that “Voyager 2 is more than 12.3 billion miles from Earth, where it is hurtling at an estimated 34,390mph through interstellar space – the space between the stars”.[1]
Apparently, someone sent an erroneous command which caused the craft to venture off-course. This resulted in the antenna being misaligned and not tuned to the commands from Earth. Obviously, the probe was not acquainted with the advice that Moses gave to the Israelites:
So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Deuteronomy 5 v32 [NIVUK]
The earlier verses of this chapter include a restatement of the Ten Commandments. Why did God instruct Moses to repeat them here? Did he know that we would be likely to veer off onto our own course?
Do you send up prayers only to get no response? All your words seem to disappear into empty space. Is all you hear just white noise and static? Do you wonder, “Is anybody listening, is anybody there?”
Do you get the feeling that God is like the probe – miles out into space and looking the other way? Perhaps another part of his creation is occupying his attention. Maybe Eliphaz the Temanite was on the right track when he said “Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars … Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens”.[2]
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NASA has not abandoned the spacecraft even though it does not respond to the messages that have been sent to it. Voyager 2 is not dead; it continues to send out signals some 46 years after it was launched. There is a hope that it will soon resume full contact and can be brought back on course.
Have we abandoned God? Does he seem too remote and no longer on the same wavelength? Why is he not communicating with us? Have we given up listening?
God has not abandoned us even though we do not respond to the messages that we have been sent. He is waiting patiently for us to get in touch so that he can steer us in the right direction.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3 v9 [NIVUK]
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Just as I finished writing these thoughts the news came through that contact with Voyager 2 has been re-established. It was achieved using a technique known as an interstellar shout – a powerful signal that demands attention. Will God have to use an ‘interstellar shout’ to get through to you?
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ Isaiah 30 v21 [NIVUK]
Resources:
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-66371569
[2] Job 22 v12,14
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
Steve A brilliant analogy as to the path we tread on daily walk with our Lord.