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God in Nature

One of my favorite passages in the Bible comes from Paul's letter to the Romans: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." Romans 1:18-20 (emphasis mine)

I love that this passage points us to nature, the constant witness of Yahweh. There would be no nature without Him, for He spoke it into existence, and the only way to deny this is to "suppress the truth". Instead, we ought look to nature and see the glory of God in His creation. I remember a youth group retreat where my Pastor asked us to go find evidence of God, I walked a couple steps away from the fire pit and grabbed a pine cone. That was all I needed. Now, I did recently go through dissecting flowers and other things in biology (probably to include pine cones) and we discussed how plants are able to reproduce, so I had a little extra fascination with plant life at the time, but the fact remains that I saw God in nature.

My family just spent the better part of three weeks on vacation, most of it camping. We totaled close to 6000 miles of driving and spent most of our nights camping, but even if we weren't camping, our children (ages 3, 2 and 9 months) were in the same room or tent as us, though sometimes the oldest was with my parents. That being said, we didn't have the opportunity to sit down, relax and read our Bible or have quiet time with God before bed. Have you had to have all your children with you and try to get them to sleep when they are excited about the frog they just saw on the way back to the tent? Quiet time is not happening. So, I was definitely thankful of being able to see God's glory in the beauty that surrounded us, and there was a lot of it. I highly recommend Rialto Beach and Cape Flattery for appreciating that. To appreciate the capacity for creation that He gave us, hit up Mount Rushmore. My family and I got to enjoy these things and more over the last month, and I am so blessed to be able to travel with my family to enjoy the beauty God created for us. I hope you enjoy it too and see Him in the wonder and majesty that surrounds us every day.

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