Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Words from Wednesday (Devotional)

Psalm 95: 4-5: “In his hand are the depth of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.”

James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

If you live in the lower mainland (and perhaps the same happened in other places), this week was full of weather. It rained, snowed, hailed, and the sunshine glowed all within an hour or two during the day. At first I found this kind of annoying. But as I thought on it a little more, I came to the conclusion that it was beautiful. How often does God show his beauty, and we ignore it completely because we have things to do, places to go, our own schedules to stick to, our own to-do lists to cross off? Yet, each morning, God graces us with the gifts of his beauty in creation. Do we take time to notice it? Do we take time to thank him for it? Can we slow down our lives enough to realize that a glimpse of sunshine is a gift? A sudden hailstorm shows God’s power? A sunset shines His splendor?

Spring is soon upon us. One of my favorite parts of being a first grade teacher was guiding those wondering minds to notice the seasonal changes right before their eyes—and to guide them to recognize the One who makes the changes each season! While I may no longer teaching those 6-year-old bundles of energy, I still need to recognize the daily gifts God gives to me each and every morning through His beautiful creation.

Other verse to read: Psalm 90:1-2, Genesis 1:31

If you are a visual person, take a moment to view this video. It took me back to my days as part of a children’s choir when we often sang this song in church. And it gave me a clear “picture” of God’s gifts to us through his creation.

No comments: