Episode #273 Everyday Wonder: Finding the Divine in the Details – Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Hey, friend. I hope you're ready to see God in a whole new way today because that's what we're going to do and it's gonna be easy. So. I know that's a big claim to start out this episode with, but we're talking about seeing God's fingerprints in nature, because sometimes in our efforts to grow spiritually, we overcomplicate things and disregard some of the truth God actually tells us about himself. And that's what we're unpacking in today's episode.

So let's start with this question: when was the last time something in nature genuinely took your breath away? I am a cloud girl. I love noticing the way that different clouds form and how they move, and my kids love looking to find animal shapes in them. I love a good sunset and sunrise, although I'm rarely up early enough to notice the sunrise, But I love clouds. I think they're so gorgeous.

When I was thinking about this episode, I actually started remembering a trip that I got to take a few years ago to Machu Picchu. So I was in Peru and it was on a trip with Compassion International. It was a phenomenal ministry experience, and we had this side excursion one day where we got to go see one of the Wonders of the World. And before we actually got to this ancient building site, we're traveling by train and then by bus through these mountains. It was a rainy day, and so there were clouds and mist and rain. And literally on the train we would turn around a corner and I would audibly gasp out loud with how beautiful it was.

So I'm reflecting on those moments of nature taking my breath away, and then of this photo that I took actually up on Machu Picchu of this tiny little sprig, this tiny little plant that was sprouting out of these ancient ruins. And I was captivated by the new growth that was visible there and how God creates and sustains life.

I share that to say that there's all sorts of things in nature that can captivate us and take our breath away. And it doesn't have to be a once in a lifetime trip or a monumental excursion. In the everyday quiet quick moments of going through our busy lives, we can notice God on display in nature.

So think about the last time that something in nature took your breath away, and I'll read a couple verses for us. Psalm 19:1-2 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge."

I'm in the midst of rereading Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline and we're in the discipline of study and how that includes the Bible, but also goes beyond the Bible, which the Bible itself tells us is true. And so I'm in this part learning about the study of nature and Foster suggests that the next step after paying attention is to "make friends with the flowers and the trees and the little creatures that creep upon the earth." This sounds whimsical, but it's about developing a relationship with creation rather than just extracting information from it.

He quotes Dostoevsky: "Love all God's creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God's light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things."

This can seem so basic, but in our hurried lives, it's really easy to move through nature without seeing it. We can scroll through our phones while sitting in parks and hustle from the car into the building without even noticing the sky or the ground underneath our feet.

As you read your Bible, it is full of passages like this that talk about how God is on display in his creation. And God our masterful, magnificent, creator, made this world that we get to live in. I wonder what we can learn about him as we notice it. I love that this type of study doesn't require scientific expertise or wilderness excursions or even a lot of time. It can happen right now if you look out your window, or as you run errands or as you check the mail to take a few seconds or maybe a few minutes and notice the beauty of God's creativity in the house plant on your window sill or of the puppy that you're working to train. Hi. That's my life experience right now.

It's less about what you're observing and more about how you're observing it. Attentiveness and reverence and willingness to be taught. Seeking to study, to notice God more in his creation.

And so my encouragement for you today is to find one natural element to observe this week and to talk with God about it. Ask God to open your eyes to see his fingerprints in the natural world around you. And here's a question that you can take to him to continue that conversation:

God, what aspect of your creation do you want to use to teach me about yourself?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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