Seeing God in Creation Gives Me Courage to Keep Serving Him (part 3 in the Why I Believe series)

My own experience affirms what the Bible clearly teaches:

^NIV  Romans 1:20 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.

God constantly reminds me through His creation that He is real and powerful and wise and good. There is a scientific side to this truth that I want to address in future posts.  But long before we had telescopes and microscopes and before we knew about DNA and the fundamental forces of physics, people could still see evidence of God everywhere.  As King David sang,

^NIV  Psalm 19:1b The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

A Butterfly with a Job to Do

When Joy was young and we were living in Indonesia, we took her to Bantimurung, a nature park famous for waterfalls and butterflies.  While there, a butterfly landed on Hope’s finger and was content to rest there long enough for me to take several photos.

That butterfly had a job to do. Joy’s look of wonder as she looks at the same butterfly sitting on a rock told us that this butterfly was doing a great job of reminding Joy, and us, that we have a wonderful Creator.

Remembering Our Creator When We Face Opposition

Thinking about God as our powerful Creator does much more than help us to initially believe in Him.

In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John are arrested for speaking about Jesus.  The religious leaders command them to stop talking about Jesus (Acts 4:18).  After being released, Peter and John call a prayer meeting.  In their prayer, remembering that their God is the Creator of everything gives them courage:

Acts 4:²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. . . .²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Good for Everyday Problems, Too

I admit that sometimes I’m wimpy.  I’ve never been arrested for speaking the gospel, but even small problems like taxes, bills, and a long “To Do” list can cause me to feel stressed out and a bit overwhelmed.  I am so grateful that our God helps us with our small problems as well as the biggies.  Many times on an early morning walk, God has spoken to me about His goodness, faithfulness, and power through a beautiful sunrise.

Photo taken by Joy a little East of Severn, NC

The consistency of the sunrise reminds me that my God is faithful.

The ability of the sun to light up the whole sky reminds me that my God is powerful.

The beauty of the sunrise reminds me that God is good.

And the transition from darkness to light reminds me that my problems are temporary and God’s glory is eternal.

It would be great if right now you could take a break and go on a nature walk and feel God’s glory.  The next best thing might be watching this video with clips from “Planet Earth”  set to Brian Doerksen’s song Creation Calls.

So the next time you are feeling tempted to worry, or pressured to give in, take a look at the sky above, or the flowers in your yard, or the birds flying by, and remember God and gain new strength to keep believing and keep following Jesus.

You can continue to read this "Why I Believe . . ." series by clicking below:

Part 4  Nuclear Submarines and Living Cells

 

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .