IF CREATION SINGS YOUR PRAISES

SO WILL I

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

 The skies display his craftsmanship. 

Day after day they continue to speak;

 night after night they make him known.

 They speak without a sound or word; 

their voice is never heard. 

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

 and their words to all the world.

—Psalm 19:1-4

So Will I

Whether because of government decree or your own personal choices, there are a lot of experiences we aren’t enjoying right now. One thing we can still enjoy however is the glorious natural creation of God.  I recently had the chance to do a little traveling in national parks.  I was awed by the incredible variety of beauty, majesty and curiosity to be seen in these vast natural spaces.  

But we don’t have to travel to vast natural spaces, set apart to preserve their beauty, in order to recognize the wonder of God through his creation. All we have to do is take the time to stop and pay attention to what's around us.  The frolic of little birds in a bird bath, the sound of rain on the roof, the way the sunlight filters through a tree, the intricate nature of a spiders web, the way flowers turn in the day to face the sun, or a little seed in a paper cup pushes out of the barren soil and strives toward life and growth.  Everyday, even in the biggest cities in the world, we are still surrounded by the wonder of God’s creation.   

And in the recognition and acknowledgement of God’s hand in the natural world around us we give praise to Him and worship him as He deserves! 

“If there are a bunch of fruit trees, one could say that whoever created these fruit trees wanted some apples. In other words, by looking at the order of the world, we can infer purpose and from purpose we begin to get some knowledge of the Creator, the Planner of all this. This is, then, how I look at God.  I look at God through the works of God’s hands and from those works imply intentions. From these intentions, I receive an impression of the Almighty.”

Arno Penzias- Nobel Prize Physicist 

“The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.”

Louis Pasteur

“When we think of oceans and mountains, forests and deserts, trees, plants, and animals, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the galaxies, as God’s creation, waiting eagerly to be “brought into the same glorious freedom as the children of God” (Romans 8:21), we can only stand in awe of God’s majesty and all embracing plan of salvation.” 

Henri Nouwen 

So how do we live with growing appreciation and thankfulness for Christ through the natural world? How do we experience God through intimate knowledge of his creation? We start simply. Nurture some plants, tune in to the rustle of leaves. Watch the sunset tonight or gaze at the moon.  Listen for the sounds of night around you. 

And tomorrow morning step outside and look at the upper branches of the trees growing in your yard and think of  Sgt. Joyce Kilmer’s poem:

Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear 

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.