I’m finding an interesting phenomenon in my life of late that is coming with a confluence of events–the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and aging. Do you know what it is? I take much more pleasure in nature than ever before.
It doesn’t have to be anything big like a rainbow or the Grand Canyon; no, sometimes, it’s watching a bird take a bath in a puddle, looking at the lines in a leaf, or seeing bulbs begin to break through the surface of the ground after a cold winter.
The more the world goes crazy, the more delight and comfort I find in God’s creation.
The pastors at my local church had a lovely conversation a couple of weeks ago about this very subject, and as they spoke, Pastor Mark shared this:
If you are not in awe of the natural, you are not in awe of the supernatural.
Mark Moore
I thought about how easy it is to pay more attention to a screen or news story than the song of a bird singing at your window. That’s when I realized something: Satan loves to distract us from the wonders of the universe, because he knows they point to only one person–the God of all Creation.
David knew what happened when he looked at the world around him:
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8:3-9 (NKJV)
What did looking up do for David? Made him realize his own size, his own worth. Who are we, as mere human beings in comparison to the vastness of creation? A blot, a speck, a nothing?
It seems so, and yet…and yet, God is mindful of us. He cares for us and has given us a place of value in creation by allowing us to rule over the even lesser creatures — the animals, beasts of the field, birds of the air, fish of the sea. Who are we to deserve such a place of responsibility and stewardship? We are nothing in comparison with the whole of creation, and yet he allows us to play a role in overseeing all he’s made.
Wow. If that doesn’t humble you, I don’t know what does?
When David looked above, when he looked at creation, he could not help but sing out the praises of the Lord. How excellent is the name of the Lord, our Lord.
This world is a gift, daily full of surprises and things which can bring a smile to our face. Watching a dog or cat play brings laughter, looking at the birth of a lamb brings wonder, and standing in the rain on a hot day brings relief. No two days are alike in God’s world; it’s always changing, giving us new reasons to sigh or exclaim, to laugh or cry.
No accident can cause that. No man can duplicate it. Only the God Almighty, ruler of heaven and earth can bring such detail to each aspect of his creation.
The more this world is attacked by man-made and sin-made troubles, the more my earthly body decreases, the more my eyes are turned to that which brings me awe and wonder in the natural world to renew my confidence in the One in control of the spiritual world.
In the end, He’s what matters.
Have you lost sight of what matters? Let the wonders of nature draw you back to a reverence for God. Then worship Him.
Grace and Peace
Beautiful! 🙂 Yes, I feel this way–thankful for the wonder of His creation all around us when we just take time to look. Thank you.
I can tell you do from your writing, Susan! Thanks for the encouragement. We serve an amazing God!
Psalm 8 is a praise song I frequently use in my praise time to the Lord Almighty! I, too, am increasingly aware of nature and my ‘speck’ on the face of this earth.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts.
Thanks for sharing, Lorraine. So glad we have the psalms to give us words to sing back to God in praise.