I Believe: Additional Reflections on Nature and Faith

"Ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?  In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."  (Job 12:7-10)




If you missed part one of this essay, Reflecting on Nature and Faith, I encourage you to read it here first!


I believe that God speaks through nature, his creation, to everyone, but I think he speaks to naturalists and those interested in the natural world in very special and specific ways.


He speaks to biologists, revealing himself in the beautifully balanced ecosystems around us:
"He [the Lord] makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.  They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.  The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches...  There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees.  The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax...  How many are your works, O Lord!  In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number - living things both large and small."  (Psalm 104:10-12, 17-18, 24-25)


He speaks to botanists, revealing himself in the processes of photosynthesis and assemblages of plant communities:
"I [the Lord] will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.  I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it."  (Isaiah 41:19-20)


He speaks to geologists, revealing himself in the vast ages of rocks and timescale of geologic processes:
"Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."  (Psalm 90:2)


He speaks to oceanographers, revealing himself in the deep, mysterious expanses of the seas: 
"Others went out on the sea in ships... They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep."  (Psalm 107:24)


He speaks to meteorologists, revealing himself in the power of storms, the gentleness of spring rain:
"He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightening with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses." (Psalm 135:7)


He speaks to astronomers, revealing himself in the vast reaches of our universe:
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"  (Psalm 8:3-4)


He speaks to farmers and gardeners, revealing himself in his plan to care for and sustain us through the earth:
"You [the Lord] care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it."  (Psalm 65:9)


He speaks to the whole world, to anyone who will listen:
"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 men are without excuse."  
(Romans 1:20)




God began his story with us in the Garden of Eden, a place of pristine natural beauty and utter perfection, where we walked with God until we, humans, promptly ruined it.  But God didn't give up on us.  

God brought his chosen people, the Israelites, out of slavery, promising to go with them, leading them into a promised land of natural abundance and peace, a plan that sounded great until we, humans, promptly ruined it.  But God didn't give up on us.  

God himself came once again to live among us, in the form of a man, Immanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ.  He came to be love, to teach us how to love God and love each other.  He came to serve and to sacrifice, giving his own life in exchange for ours.  Taking the punishment of death that we deserved, he defeated death once and for all so that by believing in Him, by believing in the work of Christ on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead, we can receive the gift of living forever in the glorious presence of God, living in perfect harmony and peace and beauty on the New Earth, finally experiencing life with him the way he originally intended.  

If that is too incredible to believe, think for a few minutes about cell division, about how human life begins and progresses.  Think about how a human eye works, or the human brain.  Think about mountain building processes and bird migration, ocean tides and outer space.  Think about how sunlight provides the basis of all life on earth, and about how perfectly positioned the earth is to sustain life.  

If a loving creator God and a resurrected Christ seem too incredible to believe, take some time to think about how incredible life really is.  We live in a world that is incredible beyond description. 

When Christ came to earth, he came offering the forgiveness of sins, through his love, buying us back from the slavery of sin and death.  

Jesus said,
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  (John 3:16)

This promise is for all of us, all of us who look out on the natural world and see a great and mighty God, all of us who look inward at ourselves and see unworthiness and faults, all of us who look out again to see and accept Jesus, his love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. 

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he left us with the promise of the Holy Spirit, a comforter and guide, the very presence of God indwelling those who believe (John 14:16-17).  The same spirit that whispered to Elijah in the stillness after the storm (1 Kings 19:11-13), the same spirit that called to Samuel in the dead of night (1 Samuel 3:2-10), is speaking to us now, through his Word, through other believers, and through nature.



For those who ask for a "sign," I challenge you to look out and see, truly see, the signs all around us.  

Look at the ocean and see God's power; 
look up to the mountains and see God's eternal nature; 
look across wildflower meadows and see God's beauty; 
look at fields of abundant harvest and see God's provision; 
look at the birds and see God's tender care for his creation; 
look at your own body and see God's wisdom and intricate design; 
look at your own life and see God's plan and provision; 
look at love and goodness and kindness, and see God himself reflected, though imperfectly, in our lives.


Seek God and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart.  (Jeremiah 29:13)

Come near to God and he will come near to you.  (James 4:8)

Resolve to believe, and He will help you overcome your unbelief.  (Mark 9:24)

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