For as long as I can remember I have experienced the awestruck reality of God’s creation. Like the psalmist in Psalm 8:3-4 … I contemplate, “When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?”
In this episode of Sunday Spice, I will encourage you to look into the heavens, into and beyond the early morning horizon; into the night sky with its splendor, its grandeur, and its brilliance, into the depths of nature, and into all of creation. Woven into this natural glory is a simple and life-changing message from its Creator.
Do you concur with the psalmist like I do? I have wondered about how God is so mindful of me. I have pondered in private moments how God takes the insignificance of me and by His love and grace helps me understand how significant, how loved, I am in His sight. The magnificent creation around us, its utter splendor so obvious and overwhelming, makes me feel like a speck of dust on one hand; but, on the other hand, I then realize this Creator’s love and care for me. He created all things to get my attention. As Romans 1:20 says, ”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” . . . The creation itself is evidence of His existence but it is also evidence of His power and His very nature. He has allowed us to see His invisible attributes by giving us a visible creation that points to Him.
I can look at the dawning of the eastern sky early in the morning or I can stand in my backyard at night looking up at the star-lit sky and get the same feeling. Each of these glorious panoramas arrest me with the realization of how big God is and how, in the midst of all this immeasurable expansiveness, He stays mindful of me.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). So true!
Let’s consider Psalm 136 for a moment. It has 26 verses. Each of the twenty-six verses has a response in the latter part of the verse, the response of the congregation or singers is “for His steadfast love endures forever.” Okay, so the point is well made just by virtue of the repetition that “His steadfast love endures forever!” But of the twenty-six verses, each verse starts at the beginning with a different point. I’ll limit my reading to just verses four through nine. Notice how God’s steadfast love is connected to creation.
4 to Him who alone does great wonders,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
5 to Him who by understanding made the heavens,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
6 to Him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
7 to Him who made the great lights,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
I get the distinct message from these scriptures that it’s okay to look at creation, ponder its Creator, and conclude that God loves us steadfastly; and I also conclude that His love endures forever. As the Bible proclaims, “God is Creator.” But the same Bible proclaims that “God is love.”
But then let’s also consider that not only do we live in the midst of a vast creation, but we too are products of the Creator. Psalm 139: 13-16
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in Your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
I wasn’t even formed yet and yet He knew me.
The word “substance” in verse sixteen means embryo. No matter where I’ve been in my human development His eyes saw me from the beginning and He still sees me and still cares about me today.
After taking a look at creation and examining its detail and its beauty, whether using the naked eye, or the benefits of a telescope, or a microscope you will understand how I cannot relate to those who scoff at the Creator. Simply stated from the Scriptures is that “what can be known about God is plain to us all, because God has shown it to us.” Romans 1:19
The purpose of today’s Sunday Spice simply points us all to the love of the Savior and as I see it creation itself leads the way with that message.
To this point, I’ve given testimony of how I conclude that God cares and loves me, but what I want more than anything right now is for you to come to know the same conclusion about yourself. I want you to come to know and believe the love that God has for you. I borrowed that idea from 1 John 4:16, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.” I want you to know that He loves you and I want you to believe that He loves you.
“And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they will perish, but You remain … Hebrews 1:10-11 ESV
And from Hebrews 1:1-4: “1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”
Our loving Savior is the Creator of the world and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
I’m Tammy Reneé, and this is Sunday Spice. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed are the people who take refuge in Him!
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