The Astronomer Who Ran Out of Comparisons

In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope pointed its lens at a tiny patch of sky near the constellation Ursa Major — a speck no larger than a grain of sand held at arm's length. Scientists expected to find mostly darkness. Instead, the image revealed over three thousand galaxies, each containing billions of stars, layered behind one another like lanterns receding into an infinite hallway. Robert Williams, the director who authorized the risky observation, later admitted he simply had no language adequate for what they found. Every analogy broke down. Every comparison fell short.

David knew that feeling. When God promised this shepherd-king an everlasting dynasty — not because David had earned it, but because God chose to give it — David sat before the Lord and searched for words. He did not reach for flattery or formula. He reached for the only honest response available: "There is no one like You, and there is no God but You."

This was not theological abstraction. David had heard with his own ears the promises kept at Bethlehem, in the wilderness of En Gedi, on the battlefield against Goliath. Every deliverance confirmed what no comparison could capture. The Almighty is not the greatest among options. He stands alone, beyond all analogy.

When your own experience of God's faithfulness leaves you searching for adequate words, you are standing exactly where David stood — in the only honest place, which is awe.