Is it in our nature to “hear” nature?

Posted on Sep 5, 2015 in Faith Focus |

As many of you may know, I was blessed to be on vacation in Florida over the past week or so. It was a wonderful time of rest and relaxation. While away we stayed in this beautiful condo provided to us by a friend that was on the third floor of a building.
The building itself was right on the beach so when we went out onto our balcony we were immediately greeted by the breathtaking beauty and power of the gulf. Waking up to this view every morning was very pleasurable as we took in gorgeous sunsets, lots of interesting birds, and views of boats that looked like they had just been rendered on an artist’s canvas. During several instances we were treated to see dolphins swimming. It is funny that for so many (like us) when they see a dolphin they get very excited. My reaction was to summon Lisa and Timothy so they could see these creatures cross the horizon. I must say that as beautiful as all this was, one thought stayed with me whenever I looked out on the beach and gulf; “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Here is an excerpt from the 19
th
 Psalm which contains those words:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

In these words, David, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, magnificently captured some great truths about God. First, that for those God has blessed with spiritual sight, when you take in such scenes as what I have described above, you can’t help but see the work of God’s hands proclaimed, and therefore His very existence. How anyone could look out on such scenes and think that they “just happened” now amazes me, and yet I too once entertained such ideas. But for God’s grace…there go I. Yet David is clear that the natural world “speaks” to everyone alive, although it is without a “voice”, and proclaims the existence of a glorious God who fashioned all of creation. Yet, it is man’s nature to often look for ways to explain away what nature reveals, and worship “created things, rather than The Creator”.

My time in Florida was short but I thank God for the blessing of being able to go. Most of all I thank him for again testifying to me about His power, majesty, creativity, provision, and glory (to name a few…). The thing is we don’t have to travel to a beach or a canyon or a mountain for God to reveal His glory to us. All you have to do is walk outside and consider carefully one single flower, or one little insect, or one blade of grass and you will see the hand of The Creator. Don’t let your human nature dupe you into thinking that God is not behind every leaf on every tree.

For His glory,

Rob

September 5, 2015

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