God’s attention to detail in the created world is mind-boggling to say the least.
My husband and I were doing what we do almost every evening a few nights ago…sitting on the porch. He smokes a cigar and we chat about our day. We may talk about funny things that happened during our day, watch the birds that come visit our feeders, ponder deep things about life and God or just sit in silence.
“God didn’t forget the tiniest details when He created this world and everything in it.”
Since it’s now daylight savings time, our porch time is enjoyed in darkness. However, we have a streetlight that illuminates our yard and street. As I was sitting there the other night, I thought I saw a huge spider in a web under that light. I grabbed the binoculars (we are such nerds) and looked. It was just a leafless branch reflecting light in one spot, not a web with a spider.
I told hubby what I thought I saw and we both wondered, “Where do spiders go in the winter?” I grabbed my phone and googled it.
What I read, blew me away.
When it gets cold, a spider’s body starts producing antifreeze compounds. The compounds are very similar to what we put in our car. They build these up in their tissues and it lowers the temperature at which they freeze! The spiders instinctively know they have to go to places for shelter, like leaf litter or
cracks in the bark of a tree. The antifreeze and shelter keep them alive all winter.
“They were in the midst of horrible danger and yet, they proclaimed what God had done in creation as the reason they had nothing to fear.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. God didn’t forget the tiniest details when He created this world and everything in it. No wonder, in the book of Acts, they began a prayer like this when faced with threats of beatings and death.
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.”
Acts 4:24
They were in the midst of horrible danger and yet, they proclaimed what God had done in creation as the reason they had nothing to fear. They looked at man and then looked at what God made and decided they would obey and fear Him above trying to escape death.
“In the same way we get to know an artist’s heart by what he creates, one of the greatest ways to get to know God is by observing what He has made.”
I am not in mortal danger, but I have everyday worries and stress like everyone else. Life can seem bigger than God. But as I sat on my porch and found out a spider’s body is programmed to produce antifreeze when the thermometer hits a certain number, I found stirring in my soul a deeper trust in the God who made spiders.
When my children were small and I was desperately trying to lay a strong foundation of faith for them and me, I would look out the window of my car at the sky. I would let that sky declare and proclaim to my fearful heart how big my God was. I would say to my children, “Look at that sky! It’s a feast for our eyes and it’s free!”
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.
Psalm 19:1-2
God is invisible and although we can’t audibly hear His voice, He knows we need to be reassured of His love and power. Therefore He made the heavens to:
• Declare
• Proclaim
• Pour forth speech
• Reveal His knowledge
In the same way we get to know an artist’s heart by what he creates, one of the greatest ways to get to know God is by observing what He has made.
“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.”
Romans 1:20
God’s invisible qualities have been clearly seen.
Invisible=clearly seen
How can both of those be true?
“what we see on a daily basis is enough of a miracle that every person on the planet is without excuse for not seeking God with their whole heart.”
When I see a painting, a house, a sculpture, or any other thing that has been made, no one has to tell me it had a creator. It’s plain by looking at what they made. As a matter of fact, I would be able to tell if a child made it or a master craftsman simply by
looking. I wouldn’t have to see the person who made it to see their skill or lack thereof.
It would be plain.
…since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
Romans 1:19
That statement is simply speaking of creation. Even if we had no Bible, God says what we need to know about Him is declared every single day through what He has made.
• His eternal power
• His divine nature
Creation says God’s power is overwhelming and His nature is good. People want God to prove Himself through a miracle. God can and does still do miracles but I would argue what we see on a daily basis is enough of a miracle that every person on the planet is without excuse for not seeking God with their whole heart.
“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.”
Romans 1:20
I used to try to defend God when people would go through really hard times. I didn’t understand any more than they did and I would be thinking in my mind and heart, “They are right God, where were you and why did you let that happen if you’re so good.” Their problems would overwhelm me and make me doubt
God’s goodness. That was before I sought Him with my whole heart and found Him in power.
“I spend much time on my porch just soaking in the world around me. It’s not a waste of time in my eyes. It’s an act of both worship and rest.”
Now I “see” and “understand” Him through prayer, Bible reading and nature. I spend much time on my porch just soaking in the world around me. It’s not a waste of time in my eyes. It’s an act of both worship and rest. I’m older now and I see the value in living in the moment and quietness.
I commune with God as I look at His beautiful world. He gave us this world to sustain life but also to blow us away. We live at a time in history like no other. We can see images from all over the world. Through technology, we can see what God made at the bottom of the sea, on the highest mountaintops, and in the remotest jungles.
I can sit on my front porch and google “where do spiders go in the winter” and be slack-jawed as I contemplate who my God is through what He has made.
What a gift He has given me and you that we can step out our front doors and listen to God declare to our souls the only two things we really need to know…He is all-powerful and He is totally good.
