AGREE ON GOD
My friend Doug posted photos on Facebook of things
in nature that caught his eye. A friend responded: “Are you seeking a refuge
for the next virus (or continuation of this one), or just having fun?” His
answer was: “A little of both, I think. Want to also show the beauty of life and
that life continues.” Doug and I are opposites in our opinions politically, but
when it comes to God’s creation, we agree. No person could logically argue over
the magnificence of God’s creation.
When I want to remind myself of the magnitude
and wisdom of our God, I go to the book of Job and to the Psalms.
“By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He
gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the
depth in storehouses.
“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let
all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
“For he spake, and it was done;
he commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:6-9).
Psalm 96 says: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let
the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein:
then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord” (Ps.
96: 11-13).
In Job 37, God commands Job to halt and consider. Sometimes we
need to do that too.
“Hearken unto this, O Job: stand
still, and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14).
“God
thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we
cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the
small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.
“Then the beasts
go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh
the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By
the breath of God frost is given” Job 37:5-6, 8-10a).
Then in Job 39:
“Knowest
thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst
thou mark when the hinds do calve? Canst thou number the months that they
fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? They bow
themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their
sorrows. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn;
they go forth, and return not unto them.
“Who
hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the
wild ass? 6 Whose house I have made the
wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the
multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth
after every green thing.
“Will the unicorn
be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind
the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys
after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?
Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou
believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy
barn?
“Gavest
thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto
the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth
them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may
crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as
though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither
hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high,
she scorneth the horse and his rider.
“Hast thou given
the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck
with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the
glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley,
and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed
men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth
he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the
glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with
fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound
of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he
smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the
shouting.
“Doth
the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the
strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes
behold afar off” (Job 39:1-30).
Job gives us some of God’s thundering
magnificence, but In the Song of Solomon, we are encouraged also to see our God
as the tender lover that He is. And He does this by calling us away to share
the intimacy of His tenderest creations.
“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love,
my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain
is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the
time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the
turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs,
and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Sol. 2: 10-13).
Whether we need to be boldly confronted with the magnificence
of God like Job, or tenderly coerced into a quiet place where the loudest thing
you hear is the voice of a turtle, let’s take a closer look at some of God’s
creations this week and see what we can learn.
Love, Carolyn
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