My adopted teenage son and I had the privilege of hosting two of his closest friends, Brock and Wesley (and their parents), in his native country of Uganda. Though our friends were spending just one week in East Africa, their plans were so ambitious that I said to Brock, “Your dad wants to do everything in seven days.” “It’s possible,” Brock replied. “God made the earth in seven days.” “Yes,” my son said with a smile, “but did God do all of these activities?”
As we plotted our days and tried (unsuccessfully!) to fit all we wanted to accomplish into our allotted time frame, our efforts and lighthearted conversations prompted us to reflect on this profound truth: No one, absolutely no one, compares to the Lord, our Creator, the Holy One (Isaiah 40:25).
The everlasting God desires that we continually come to this place of embracing that He alone is Lord and “the Creator of all the earth” (Isaiah 40:28). He calls us to gaze at His creation, to look up at the stars, and to marvel at His handiwork. He knows that as we do so we’ll better grasp that “he brings [the stars] out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of [God’s] great power and incomparable strength, not a single [star] is missing” (Isaiah 40:26).
This passage of Scripture, the heavens, and the entire Bible proclaims that the Lord who created and orchestrates the mighty host of stars in the sky is our Creator, and He is for us. While no person can measure the depths of His understanding, through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and His creation we can know with full certainty that the God who never grows weak or weary is constantly at work on our behalf (Isaiah 40:27-28).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Mark 7:1-37
More:
Read Psalm 19:1-6 and consider how the cosmos speaks of God.
Next:
What impresses you most about God’s creation? How does it make you feel to be loved by such an amazing, creative One?
Gary Shultz on July 20, 2017 at 6:21 am
Hi Roxanne: It is marvelous, is it not? It is hard to unravel all the feelings, questions, and wonders of creation, and I think that is just the way God wanted it, an eternity of continual amazement. One of the most amazing is that He did/made all of this to speak of Himself and for wonderment and glory. He did it because He could, and because He wanted to do it, just the way He did. I would venture to say you have probably grasp some of that wonder to be and do what you do. To know a God who has created such massive things and ordered them all in space, and put order in space has directed His love and attention to me is amazing. I don’t think He did that to make us feel insignificant, but to know, how great is His power, wisdom, and resource. So each person my have different thoughts as the think about themselves, time, and purpose as they gaze into the sky, but I see a very big God, who chose to love us. Thanks Roxanne
Roxanne Robbins on July 20, 2017 at 8:11 am
Gary – It’s always such a joy to interact with you through Our Daily Journey. Thank you for sharing profound insights and takeaways from the devotions! I particularly like what your wrote about the Lord using the wonders of creation to usher us into continual amazement of who He is and his love for us. Have a blessed day, Gary!
tccarr777 on July 20, 2017 at 8:58 am
Roxanne, I always look forward to your post. As an adopted son, and the father of three girls, it never ceases to amaze me what can occur in one day, or seven days.
Ps 119:164 Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.
godlove on July 20, 2017 at 12:31 pm
Just yesterday, with the rain drizzling lightly, I saw a hen struggling to take cover from the rain droplets Under a narrow shade with her chicks while other chickens were walking around undisturbed. This made me think in amazement at the wonders of God’s creation: how did the hen understand that the cold from that very light drizzle could be harmful to her frail chicks and go seeking for a shade for their sake. It’s truly impressive to me, how much detail God put into creation in such a short time, from the tiniest insects to the most massive of stars millions of kilometres away! Thank you, Roxanne. Praise GOD!
hsnpoor on July 20, 2017 at 3:54 pm
It just never ceases to amaze me how intelligent human beings can look at this world & universe God created and fail to recognize His signature and handprint over EVERYTHING! Who but God could have made and formed a tree; or you and me? How incredibly foolhardy to insist that all of creation was just this amazingly organized explosion inside a theory of evolutionary process. I always want to tell folks who believe this that I have a parcel of oceanfront property for sale…..in Arizona!
Because of an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with a friend who is a member of a SDA church, I can’t resist noting that Brock’s Dad’s observation was off by 1-day (God created for 6-days, but on the 7th, he rested from his labor).
hsnpoor on July 20, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Actually, my apologies to Brock’s Dad….it was Brock who made the statement…
hsnpoor on July 20, 2017 at 9:12 pm
How does the cosmos speak of God? The way the sun rises in the East and sets in the West day after day after day for eons. And the fact that it’s placed in the sky just close enough to warm the Earth, but far enough away that we’re not burned to a crisp! Amazing! How the tides roll in and roll out and the Earth’s waters have boundaries established and maintained by an all powerful God. The rising and setting of the sun and the rolling in and out of the tides speak to me not only of God’s creating power, but also His unchangeable, steady faithfulness. ” From the rising of the sun, until the going down of same; God is our Rock, Hope of Salvation; He’s a strong deliverer; In Him will I always trust. Praise Him! Jesus, blessed Savior; He’s worthy to be praised”!!!!