Corona Devo 1492

We went to a park yesterday.

Not a sports park, with a ball diamond or soccer field.

Not a playground park, with swings or slide.

Not a National Park, like Yellowstone or Yosemite.

Just a local county park, a mile or so away, with trails and trees and waaaay too much mud.

We had been there before, but not since our kids were little.  It was nothing spectacular, or commercialized, or out-of-the-ordinary, or noteworthy.  There was nothing special about that park or the trail that we hiked at all.

Except...everything.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  ~Romans 1:20

Something happened in those woods, and it was different than the blip of a video game, or the swipe to the next recommended clip.  There wasn't a competition for name brands or salaries, just a ceiling of tree branches and a carpet of leaves, and the surround-sound of birds.

Nature awaited us in those woods, and we met God and His Creation in those trees and streams and mud.  His eternal power and divine nature were clearly seen, and we could understand it because of what He has made.

Have you experienced God lately?

Have you experienced nature lately?  

We should.  It's a powerful way to connect with our Creator through the natural world that He has created.

We make things/relationships/life complicated, but God created things (every thing) with an uncomplicated plan, purpose, and order.

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. (12) The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  ~Genesis 1:11-12

The deer prints that we saw in the mud weren't running in circles, and the green-sprouts of spring plants weren't questioning what species they might grow up to become.  God (gloriously) made each plant, animal, and human, and the animals and plants have not forgotten or abandoned their Master's plan...neither should we.  

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; (8) or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  (9) Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?  (10) In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."  ~Job 12:5-10

We hiked, and laughed, and detached from the serious-nonsense of our normal lives and attached to the beauty, variation, systems, and simplicity of God's natural creation.

  • Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.  ~Psalm 96:12  
  • “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  ~Luke 12:27
~~~

The trickle of a brook...
The variations of leaves, blooms and species...
The smell of a black walnut...
The twitter in the trees..
The giggles of kids (of all ages)...
The flipping of rocks and catching of salamanders, and the delighted enjoyment of what God has made...
It's difficult to be surrounded by God's handiwork and not give God a hand and provide Him with praise.  

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”  ~Revelation 4:11

~~~

God made it all for a myriad of reasons, but (I am sure) that one of them was so that we (His children) might enjoy what He has created, and that we might be reminded of God's simplicity and supremacy in Creation and over our days.

Get outside today and take a hike.  Say hello to the trees and watch them worship.  You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12).

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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