Isaiah 45:18 - For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other."
I was gone last week. I took time to drive the back roads of southwestern Wisconsin. I had hoped God would show Himself in some powerful way and I was not disappointed. It's not that I have never been in awe of the greatness of God's creation. I have always appreciated nature and the seasons and all the changes each season brings. As a friend of mine told me about my admiration for nature, "It's not like being a tree hugger." There definitely is a difference. I admire God's creation and I know that "to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Taking care of God's creation is good, but not to the extent we worship creation. We must realize there is a natural order to things and that order is Divinely inspired.
As I was driving the winding, hilly farm roads I, once again (because I've done this before), encountered the vastness of God. Hill upon hill presented tree after tree and wildflower after wildflower. You get the picture. And when one hill was behind me another one faced me. I'd be in the hollows and valleys and on the ridges totally in awe of what I saw. On ridges more hills, more trees were as far as the eye could see. And this was only within a few miles of where I was. The thought that this was across the entire county, state, country and world was more than I could even comprehend. And to think that God created it all...He knows just when a seed will fall then become a new tree. He knows when it will develop leaves and when those leaves will fall. And not just for one tree, but for ALL trees. How is this possible? As God tells us above: "I am the LORD, and there is no other." All I could do was look and allow the limitedness of my human mind take in what I could.
"If you are amazed at this, you need not be amazed at what I AM able to do...in your community, in your church, in your family, in you. Have I not said, 'I AM God. I AM the Great I AM. I AM Almighty.' It's all about trust, hope, faith and belief." These were the words God whispered in my ear one day after I'd thought, "Lord, I'm having a hard time even thinking about all this." We've been told before to come as little children. Children trust explicitly. No questions, no doubts.
If God is able to create such marvelous things for us, how can we not believe that He has some grand plan for our lives as well? How can we not trust what His Word tells us? How can we not believe that we are more important to Him than all that is around us?
In her Bible study, Believing God, Beth Moore had us say this each week: "God is who He says He is and He is able to do what He says He can do. We are who God says we are and we can do all things through God who lives in us. I'm believing God." The Word of God, if we are willing to take the time to learn, will teach us all things. It will show us that there is an Almighty God who wants nothing but the best for us. There is nothing too small or too great that He can't handle. The problems we face as so miniscule to Him and yet we make such big things out of them. How can we not believe that?
I will never cease to be amazed at the beauty of God's creation. It is a constant reminder of the greatness of our creative God. There is order in everything He creates. He has created for our pleasure and yet everything still is His. Over and over I will always be reminded of how His handiwork extends beyond the boundaries of our imagination. There is also an order in everything He does in our lives. So, when we are overwhelmed, let us remember how big our God is.
I was gone last week. I took time to drive the back roads of southwestern Wisconsin. I had hoped God would show Himself in some powerful way and I was not disappointed. It's not that I have never been in awe of the greatness of God's creation. I have always appreciated nature and the seasons and all the changes each season brings. As a friend of mine told me about my admiration for nature, "It's not like being a tree hugger." There definitely is a difference. I admire God's creation and I know that "to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Taking care of God's creation is good, but not to the extent we worship creation. We must realize there is a natural order to things and that order is Divinely inspired.
As I was driving the winding, hilly farm roads I, once again (because I've done this before), encountered the vastness of God. Hill upon hill presented tree after tree and wildflower after wildflower. You get the picture. And when one hill was behind me another one faced me. I'd be in the hollows and valleys and on the ridges totally in awe of what I saw. On ridges more hills, more trees were as far as the eye could see. And this was only within a few miles of where I was. The thought that this was across the entire county, state, country and world was more than I could even comprehend. And to think that God created it all...He knows just when a seed will fall then become a new tree. He knows when it will develop leaves and when those leaves will fall. And not just for one tree, but for ALL trees. How is this possible? As God tells us above: "I am the LORD, and there is no other." All I could do was look and allow the limitedness of my human mind take in what I could.
"If you are amazed at this, you need not be amazed at what I AM able to do...in your community, in your church, in your family, in you. Have I not said, 'I AM God. I AM the Great I AM. I AM Almighty.' It's all about trust, hope, faith and belief." These were the words God whispered in my ear one day after I'd thought, "Lord, I'm having a hard time even thinking about all this." We've been told before to come as little children. Children trust explicitly. No questions, no doubts.
If God is able to create such marvelous things for us, how can we not believe that He has some grand plan for our lives as well? How can we not trust what His Word tells us? How can we not believe that we are more important to Him than all that is around us?
In her Bible study, Believing God, Beth Moore had us say this each week: "God is who He says He is and He is able to do what He says He can do. We are who God says we are and we can do all things through God who lives in us. I'm believing God." The Word of God, if we are willing to take the time to learn, will teach us all things. It will show us that there is an Almighty God who wants nothing but the best for us. There is nothing too small or too great that He can't handle. The problems we face as so miniscule to Him and yet we make such big things out of them. How can we not believe that?
I will never cease to be amazed at the beauty of God's creation. It is a constant reminder of the greatness of our creative God. There is order in everything He creates. He has created for our pleasure and yet everything still is His. Over and over I will always be reminded of how His handiwork extends beyond the boundaries of our imagination. There is also an order in everything He does in our lives. So, when we are overwhelmed, let us remember how big our God is.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them." (Hebrews 11:3, Acts 4:24)
Oh, Laurie, you absolutely caught the beauty of His creation with this picture ... the whole thing, the barn, the trees ... all of it looks like I am standing right there experiencing it! Yeah, how can we not believe Him!
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