A gravitational perturbation on Uranus
While that may look like a punchline to a joke, it’s not. It’s the phenomena the compelled astronomers to begin looking for another planet beyond the unfortunately named Uranus. Whereas Uranus was the first planet to be discovered with a telescope, Neptune was the first to be discovered by mathematical prediction.
Uranus was discovered in 1781. Forty years later, an astronomer noted anomalies in Uranus’ orbit, and theorized that another planet must exist outside, creating an unusual gravitational pull. Astronomers began looking for another planet, based on those mathematical predictions. Finally, in September of 1846, Neptune was found within 1 degree of where it was predicted to be.
This is how I’d describe faith….that it is a spiritual perturbation on my being. God is an unseen presence who pulls me in an upsetting direction that is an anomaly to my “natural orbit.” God’s Spirit leads me to act in ways that are not natural to me. He compels me to react to things that are in total alignment to his character and nature even when they are totally foreign to my own. Unlike Neptune’s gravitational pull that only periodically upsets the normal orbit of Uranus, the pull of God’s Spirit draws me ever nearer to him.
These perturbations have altered the course of my life, now and forever. They compel me to examine the universe seeking the invisible God. There will be a day when the invisible is revealed to me, and I will experience God first-hand, and my faith predictions will be realized.
