Romans 1:20 New American Standard Bible 1995
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Creation itself testifies about its Creator.
King David said in the Psalms, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1).
It is impossible to live on this planet of ours without recognizing God, as nature is proof to His existence.
This Psalm goes on to say,
“Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:1-3).
Creation’s voice goes out and translates into every known and spoken language.
What it is revealing is the glory and majesty of God.
By observing how specific and exact the inter-workings of creation are, one can only come to the conclusion that there is a God.
This is by design.
God’s glory is displayed by the things around us.
His invisible qualities, eternal power, and divine nature are shown to us in how we are made, the world in which we live, and the universe surrounding us.
Because God has made himself clearly known through the creation of our universe, humankind is without an excuse before Him.
Instead of looking to human wisdom to make sense of life whether through books, knowledge, or the pursuit of understanding.
Today, it is my prayer that we will take a moment to observe how unique and beautiful the fingerprint of God is in our lives and the world in which we live.
I pray this leads us to praising Him for how wonderful He has made everything for us for revealing himself to us by creation.
God Speaks through His Creation
Nature has an ability to bring me peace in a way nothing else does.
Sure I get annoyed by bugs or tired from hiking.
But seeing the beauty, creativity, and complexity of what God has made has had a profound effect on my spiritual life.
Have you ever just spent some time in God’s creation?
Maybe it was hiking, lying on the beach, swimming in an ocean or a lake, fishing, gazing over the grand canyon, driving through the mountains, watching a raging thunder and lightning storm or just playing in the rain.
Take a minute to reflect on that time and what you felt.
Looking back, do you think you might have felt God’s presence?
Did the awe and wonder of nature’s splendor bring you peace, or even lead you to thoughts about God?
The more I’ve come to know God the more there has grown in me an adoration and appreciation for his creation.
Romans 1:20 states that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
Nature is meant to declare to us the “invisible attributes” of God.
And Scripture is clear that God is at work in his creation—maintaining and facilitating all that happens in the world.
Psalm 147:8-9, 15-18 tells us,
He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry… He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
When you see animals eating, you are witnessing God’s provision in the earth and can, as a result, know that he will provide for you.
When you see snow fall, ice form, and springtime come to melt away the cold you can know that God is at work around you and in your life.
To miss out on all creation speaks to us is to miss an important part of God’s voice.
You see, while God does an incredible job taking care of a world wrought with the effects of sin, he promises to take care of you even more.
Jesus commands us in Matthew 6:26-30,
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Jesus teaches us to look upon creation and listen as it declares to us the nature of God.
In fact, he commands us to do so.
You can look at the grass of the fields and the meadows and know of God’s unwavering faithfulness for you.
You can look at the birds and never wonder if you will get your next meal.
Nature declares to us that God has and will provide for us all of our days.
Nature tells us not to worry because God is both powerful and near.
Nature tells us that God is creative, practical, brilliant, loving, and full of mystery and wonder.
Nature tells us that God speaks.
God created the cosmos so that you might have another mysterious yet clear way of hearing his voice.
Whether you live in the city or country, look long and hard upon God’s creation and just stand still, cease striving against the world quietly listen for his voice.
Ask him what he wants you to know as you see all the wonders of his hands.
Let the beauty and mystery of all of God’s creation fill you with a deeper longing to know your heavenly Father.
Listen to God today and allow your heart and your soul to become stirred as you discover his undeniable unwavering desire to speak to you through his creation.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Guided Prayer:
1. Take some time to go out in God’s creation.
2. Now ask God what he wants to tell you through his creation.
Let him speak in whatever way he desires.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Romans 1:20
3. Meditate on the truth he reveals to your heart and take some time to rest in his presence.
As beloved children of an infinite, paradoxical God we must learn to embrace and value mystery.
The Psalmist reveals to us all that God longs to speak through his creation.
He longs to satisfy your longing for fascination as you ponder the mystery and beauty of that which we will never fully understand. May you hear the loving voice of the Father today as you allow the Creator to speak through his creation.
Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Works and the Word of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be [e]blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 