The Captain’s Corner

In Psalm 147:4, God counts the stars (humans have not been able to do that!) and calls them by name. Verse 5 then declares, “Great is the Lord and of great power; His understanding is infinite.”

Before GPS (the modern global satellite navigation system), planes had crew members—flight navigators—whose job was to use a process known as “celestial navigation” as a way to navigate long distances. “Celestial,” as it was called, used an instrument (a sextant) to look at certain heavenly bodies, such as stars, planets, the moon, and the sun. By using math and almanac tables, the navigator could determine the plane’s position. Today, GPS can compute a plane’s position at the speed of light!

I have long been intrigued by the use of celestial navigation—to the point of making the study of it somewhat of a hobby. What fascinates me is that this ancient (but still usable) method—using God’s astronomy—is still accurate to within a minute of a plane’s actual GPS-computed position. To this retired airline pilot, that’s impressive!

Genesis 1:16 speaks of the two great lights (the sun and the moon) that God created. Then, in what is almost an understatement, Scripture adds, “God made the stars also.” As I would look through the cockpit window (my front-row seat to viewing sky, clouds, stars, and more), it never ceased to amaze me that God perfectly placed each star in such a way that navigators from years gone by could use them as pre-GPS locators.

Be encouraged today as you think of this infinitely great Creator God who “determines the number of the stars” and “gives to all of them their names” (Psalm 147:4). He knows you; He loves you; He understands you; He is thinking of you; He cares about you; and He knows your name.

To learn more about celestial navigation, I invite you to read “How Things Work,” which I wrote several years ago for Smithsonian’s Air and Space Magazine. You may click here to read the article.