{"id":3425,"date":"2017-01-20T22:47:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T03:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/?p=3425"},"modified":"2017-01-20T22:47:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T03:47:12","slug":"creation-reflects-wonder-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prayerplainandsimple\/2017\/01\/creation-reflects-wonder-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Creation Reflects the Wonder of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things are made\u2026\u201d Romans 1:20<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past [God] permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness.\u201d Acts 14:16<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

God speaks to people through non-verbal messages of creation. If we open up our eyes, we will see Him everywhere \u2013 our Creator, scattering stars to decorate the skies at night, teaching a dog to wag its tail with delight, making babies who melt our hearts with their cooing\u2026. With great attention to detail, God made the world a wondrous place to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but what about all the suffering?\u201d you say. If we chose to, we can see plenty of pain and brokenness in the world. Whose to blame for that mess? Scripture says, \u201cYou gave [human beings] charge over everything you made, putting all things under their authority.\u201d (Psalm 8:6) If your employer put you in charge of a warehouse and that warehouse is unproductive, messy, losing money, and no one is getting along, whose fault is it? Yep. You got it. You are. I am.<\/p>\n

We can get to know God better today by asking Him to open our eyes to His great love, His mercy, all His attributes of loving kindness demonstrated in the world around us. As we get to know His character, we get to know how He can change us into people who spread the Good News of Jesus, that He came to clean up the toxic waste of sin in the world and restore us and our planet until we establish Heaven on earth.<\/p>\n

Father,<\/em><\/p>\n

Open my eyes to the beauty around me, the world that reflects your love. Thank you for the rain. Thank you for the snow. Thank you for the food I will enjoy today. Thank you for a bed in which to dream and find restorative rest. Thank you for giving me joy in my friendships. Thank you for transforming my mind from futile thoughts to thankful thoughts. I give you myself today. Open up my eyes, my ears, and all my senses to your Truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amen<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things are made\u2026\u201d Romans 1:20 \u201cIn the past [God] permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness.\u201d Acts 14:16 God speaks to people through non-verbal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,7,4,25,3],"tags":[560,148,1992],"class_list":["post-3425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-bible-prayer","category-daily-prayer","category-god","category-jesus","category-prayer","tag-creation","tag-gratitude","tag-the-heavens-declare-the-glory-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\nCreation Reflects the Wonder of God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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