Praise God the Creator

January 22, 2017 Background Scripture: Psalm 104 Lesson Passage: Psalm 104:1 – 4, 24 – 30 Sometimes the forces of nature can be so violent that the natural world appears to be untamable. We hunker down as winds blow boisterously and wait for them to subside. Great earthquakes reduce skyscrapers to heaps of rubble. Flood waters rush in and quickly destroy all in its path. An Arctic front sweeps an entire nation and encapsulates it in ice and cripples it with brutally low temperatures. A scorching drought reduces vegetation to dust and brings a quick end to many living creatures. Yet, there is one who is unmoved by all of this. The Creator of heaven and earth causes nature to obey His will and succumb to His righteous demands. Everything in existence reflects the wisdom of God. There is no doubt that nature is the result of intelligent design. The Creator uses the wind-tossed waters as pavement and speaks to it as He would a little child. When we see a raging sea, He sees a playground for an innumerable quantity of His creatures to live in and enjoy. They behave as loyal pets desiring the substance of life that comes from their Master’s hand. Their life is in God’s hands and they will live or die at His whim. God can speak life into existence and He can speak death to a creature. He summons a cloud as a fare hails a taxi. He is chauffeured about as if it were a limousine. Nature knows its Creator. What we may view as violent and out of control, the Lord sees as His creation available at His beck and call; nature is always ready to obey His voice. Nature is a physical display of the greatness of God. The vast cosmos is as a curtain in His hands. He can move and rearrange the various star systems and galaxies as it pleases Him. God can take light and wear it like clothing—and even hide Himself within it if He chooses to. He created it all for His pleasure. Mankind was created to have dominion over the earth and the earth is but a tiny speck in the realm of the cosmos. Yet, on this speck that we call home, we oftentimes live in awe and fear of natural phenomena that is part of the intricate makeup of the earth. Why so much talk about nature and what we call acts of nature? Because understanding some of the intricacies of creation is paramount to seeking an understanding of something about the Creator. It is observation of the physical world around us and an internal yearning that pulls us towards our Creator’s side. The awesomeness of creation should cause praise to erupt from the creation towards the Creator. The smallest matter around us can lead to volumes of research and publications that go on for centuries. Such research, reflection, and publication are passed from one generation to another as the years roll by. It could revolve around the lifecycle of some obscure snail or the search for the smallest item of sub-atomic matter that can be detected and studied. In other words, we don’t need storms to impress us concerning God’s greatness. Just try to build your own snail or working atom. Confusion quickly sets in when we attempt to study the makeup and workings of man. How can we not be in awe? How can we not praise God? Praise God the Creator. Robert C. Hudson December 22, 2016