Where we live, I can step outside on a summer night and gaze at the stars. Some twinkle as if just within reach and others seem almost invisible to the naked eye. As the viewer from my small vantage point on the ground, I feel as if I can see the curvature of the heavens looking above.

Those cloudless nights, with the dark sky ever chasing the light of the sun to the west, I find myself breathless in awe.

And it’s really no wonder God created moments in the darkness which could take our breath away. He uses this metaphor in Scripture to depict our lives in Him. Philippians 2: 14-15 says:

 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.

For some reason, I always picture those summer stars casting high above my head when I read this verse. In other places, Scripture refers to that crooked and perverse generation as darkness (John 1:5, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Peter 2:9). God says He separated the darkness from the light in Genesis.

Likewise, He’s separated those who are in Him from the world. You’re a star, meant to shine in the darkest of places. There’s a breath halting wonder in such truth. While the night sky may cause me to look upon it with awe—this truth—this truth should cause me to pause with an even greater wonder. God has created me to shine, not for myself, not for some small insignificant part in this big picture, but for Him, for His glory in the darkest of places.

So how is my light shining against the heavens today? Am I visible to someone looking for hope? Is my light making a difference in the dark?