Nature Is The Answer

 “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens; who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host by one and calls forth each of them by name.” 

Isaiah 40:26

In Oswald Chambers book “My Utmost for His Highest,” the modern classic edition, the title of a devotion caught my eyes. “Is Your Imagination of God Starved?”

Just like words, titles can spur us to ponder and take action after reading them. I thought, “What does he mean is my imagination of God starved?” I liked the answer: nature. In my words, do I see God in all of nature?

“Nature to a child of God is sacramental. In every wind that blows, in every night and every day, in every sign of the sky, in every blossoming and withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us, if we will only use our starved imagination to realize it. If we learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in nature—with the sunrises and the sunsets, with the moon and the stars, with the changing seasons—our imaginations will never be at the mercy of our impulses but will always be at His service” (Chambers)

We complain so much about every kind of weather, and yet God is the maker of all weather. If we look close enough . . . if we listen . . .  if we consider the spring morning, the summer heat, the fall wind and the winter chill as gifts from a loving God, might we sit back and admire His creation?

The weather might postpone an outing, disappoint an expectation and cancel plans. Yet, in later years, sitting back and watching all kinds of weather becomes simpler and is an enjoyable activity.

On Enduringword.com, David Guzik said this about Isaiah 40:26: “Isaiah can’t believe that anyone could doubt the greatness of God when they see the glory of God’s creation. First, He sits above all creation. (It is He who sits above the circle of the earth.) Second, He created it all. (Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain.)

“Isaiah’s amazement is well placed. How can anyone look at the glory and design evident in creation, and fail to understand that there must be a Glorious Designer behind it all . . . Isaiah uses an interesting phrase when he describes God as the One who sits above the circle of the earth. How could Isaiah possibly know that the earth’s shape was a circle? He probably didn’t know, but the LORD who spoke through Isaiah did know. . . God’s mastery over all creation is shown by the fact that He can bring out all the stars by number, and then He calls them all by name. With the billions and billions of stars in the universe, it is staggering to know that God can number and name them all.” (Chambers)

I loved it when we fed deer. I had my own little wildlife reserve in my backyard. But soon the bags of corn got too heavy, and the bucket to carry the corn out got too heavy. But the memories I have are delightful!

Is your imagination of God starved? The remedy is simple. Take a walk outside and remember who made everything, even you.

By His Grace . . .