Maybe some of you witnessed this in the Dallas area about a week ago. We had a cool front come through and provided much needed rain. Such a blessing from God. I drove to Snider Plaza to get dinner to bring home. On my way these spectacular clouds appeared, both easterly and westerly. People in the Plaza were stopping to do the same thing I did; take photos. But I’ve learned that as good as cameras are today, you just cannot truly replicate God’s artistry. But these six attempts at capturing God’s glory are breathtaking enough for me. I hope it is for you.
One of my all-time favorite Psalms which I memorized decades ago is Psalm 19. It captures what God’s creation does for his created people. It reveals his glory. To digress a moment, we must be reminded that all of God’s creation was introduced by the spoken word through his Son, Jesus. So, the ‘word’ in whatever form…the Bible, preaching, creation, whatever, is actually speaking with God‘s power in and through it to accomplish its mission.
Lean into this. It’s beautiful and profound. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” Psa. 19.1-4a).
Equally important is the fact that on the fifth day, after he had created everything except humanity, he blessed it and proclaimed it was good. This indicated that everything he had created would speak about his glory because he blessed it with his voice, his word. And then on the sixth day, he does the same for Adam and Eve, us, and said it was very good. God does not miss a trick. It all has a purpose. And if you’re missing it, wake up, you may be asleep.
Also, one of the primary purposes is that all creatures would not have an excuse because God is making it clear through his creation. Why wouldn’t he? He created it and he loves his creation; he loves his creatures. Listen to this powerful verse from Romans. “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom. 1.19,20).
Gaze closely at these six photos declaring God’s eternal power and divine nature. Many of us are so busy with our heads down, trying to accomplish our goals and objectives and staying ahead of the creditor that we stop looking up and out, thus we miss so much. Since he is speaking to us through his creation, what one or two things are clear to you when you look at these incredible sunset presentations? God loves praise. The Holy Spirit actually flourishes in our praise. These sunsets/clouds should lead us to praise him, but not just these, everything around us. I know there’s some nasty things, and I hate it, but move beyond it and see his glory. And what we see now points us to this incredible eternal truth.
‘But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”’ (I Cor. 2.9).