Why We All Need to Travel...
It’s amazing to me how we sat in worship
service on Sundays and sing hymns such as: “How Great Thou Art,” or “My God Is Real,”
or “My God is an Awesome God.”
However, many of us only believe
that God’s width, depth or vastness exists only in your own, narrow perspective of the
world.
Cases in Point:
- I may only believe that God is as
big as my small hometown of Lynchburg, TN or maybe as the capital of Nashville
TN or but probably no bigger than the State of Tennessee.
- I remember having the opportunity to
go to Phoenix AZ and visit the Grand Canyon. I was in awe! I was taken back by
its vastness, its beauty and it richness in color. Then I realized…this wonder
of nature was only a 27 mile stretch in the large city of Phoenix in the state
of Arizona, as part of the country of the United States, on the planet Earth,
part of one galaxy… of what may be beyond our understanding. Creating the Grand
Canyon was only a “thumb scratch” to God.
- When driving to work or just being outdoors, have you taken a moment to see the clouds, the trees, or feel the warmth of the sunshine on your face?
We read in Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) that “In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” But do we really
understand how big God is?
I had the opportunity to go on a
cruise to the Bahamas. The ship was spectacular! Other ships just as massive
were in the same port. However, as we all left port and went on our way, they
eventually disappeared!
As I stood out on deck, I saw the
bluest of skies touching the bluest of waters, both extending as far as the eye
could see. Tears slowly escaped my eyes. I found myself silently singing words
from a hymn titled “Our God, He is Alive”:
There
is, beyond the azure blue
A
God, concealed from human sight
He
tinted skies with heav'nly hue
And
framed the worlds with His great might.
We often fall for the subtle lie
from Satan that the wonders of nature are somewhat separate from God.
The website gotquestions.org answers
the question:
Is the idea of mother nature
biblical?
The
term Mother Nature serves as a kind of umbrella encompassing political and
cultural ideologies such as global warming, environmentalism, and climate
change. This, in turn, has fostered a negative impact upon our world with its
“new discoveries” making the news headlines daily: rising temperatures, rising
sea levels, savage wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, coupled with
the emergence of new and even ancient diseases, etc. As a result, many see
“Mother Nature” as a kind of capricious goddess who wreaks havoc throughout the
earth. The Bible makes it clear that it is God who send the rains on “the
righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).
It
is God who controls the forces of nature: “But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his
understanding..” (Jeremiah 10:12–13).
Another bizarre
idea is that Mother Nature is somehow the wife/consort of God and she rules in
heaven alongside Him. The Bible, however, declares that God, in the triune
Godhead, rules heaven and earth alone and unaided (Daniel 4:25). Nature is His
creation and He alone sustains and protects it and, in doing so, He testifies
to His goodness and kindness toward it. “He has shown kindness by giving you
rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of
food and fills your hearts with joy" (Acts 14:17). http://www.gotquestions.org/mother-nature.html
I challenge everyone who calls themselves
a “Christian,” to travel. When you are flying among the clouds, you know that
only God is in control. As you attend sporting events, concerts and venues with
a lot of people, you realize that God is operating in each and every life.
The Bible says:
Psalm
97:6 (NIV):
The heavens proclaim his
righteousness, and all peoples see his glory.
Psalm
19:1 (NIV):
The heavens declare the glory of
God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Genesis
1:31 (NIV):
God saw all that he had made, and it
was very good…
Ecclesiastes
3:11 (NIV):
He has made everything beautiful in
its time…
Memorable
Quotes:
“If God were small enough for us to
understand, He wouldn’t be big enough for us to worship.”
“Why wish upon a star when you can pray
to the one who created it?” – Francis Chan
“God’s ART speaks of Himself,
reflecting Who He is and What He is like.” – Francis Chan
“As the beauty of nature is
constant, so is the God who made it.”
“Never pass up an opportunity to
enjoy nature’s beauty – it is the handwriting of God.”
"Our divine nature comes from
God." - Rosemary Wixom
“Next time a sunrise steals your
breath or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless, remain that way, say
nothing and listen as Heaven whispers, “Do you like it? I did it all for you.” –
Max Lucado
“I thank you God for this amazing
day, for the leaping greenly spirit of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and
for everything that is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” – e.e.
cummings
“I love to think of nature as an
unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if
we only tune it.” – George Washington Carver
God created the heavens and the earth.
All of nature is His creation. If we’d only take a moment out to pay attention
and travel, we might grasp how infinite and utterly awesome God is.
