THE TESTIMONY OF NATURE

 

Many people, even a number of believers, are so busy with their lives that they seldom if ever take time just to notice the trees, the grass, the clouds, the sun, moon, and stars—nature itself. Secular science has turned the story of nature into a litany of lies about evolution and a collection of numbers, statistics, and scientific names that a lot of folks can’t even pronounce. A number of people refer to nature as Mother Nature, as if it is a person. It is not, but it was created by a Person—God—and it bears witness of Him.

 

Romans 1:20:  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,…

That is impressive. There is so much evidence of a Creator in nature that even a lost, isolated person who has never heard the Gospel or even the Law should be able to see that there is a Supreme Being. In addition to the creation account in chapter 1 of Genesis, the Scriptures speak of nature more than you may realize. Here are just a few examples:


Genesis 8:20-22, 9:12-13:  Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”…And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is within you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”


Job 9:8-10:  “He alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea; He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; He does great things past finding out, yes, wonders without number.” (The Bear, Orion, and the chambers of the south are references to constellations in the night sky while the Pleiades is a prominent star cluster in Taurus.)


Psalm 19:1-6:  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.


Psalm 147:7-9, 15-18:  Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praises on the harp to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains. He gives to the beast its food, and to the young ravens that cry…He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; He casts out His hail like morsels; who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.


Nahum 1:3b-5:  The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it.


Matthew 6:26a, 28b-29:  “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them…Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”


Luke 12:54-55:  Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is…”


It is amazing just to take some time to observe nature. So many types of animals, from the fireflies of summer to the squirrels in the winter, to all the animals of the land, air, and water.  So many types of weather, from dry to wet to hot to cold.  So many types of clouds, ranging from puffy fair-weather cumulus to dull gray overcast to towering thunderstorms to high, thin, feathery cirrus. There are the stars of the night sky, of so many different brightnesses and colors, even to the diffuse whitish ribbon of the Milky Way. There is the moon and its phases. Telescopes and space probes have revealed the fantastic structures of the other planets in the Solar System, as well as star clusters, clouds of colorful gas and dust in space, even other galaxies spread out over the incredible distances of the universe. There are the awe and terror inspired by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning. The human body itself is a stunningly complex and magnificent creation of God:


Psalm 139:13-16:  For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.


We can admire the beauty, power, and majesty of nature and of all created things, whether they are geographical features, weather phenomena, plants, or animals. We can marvel at the amazing creation of the human body. Whatever it is, though, we should always bear in mind the One who made it all and who made us all: God. The scientists can keep their evolutionary theories about all this. The nature worshippers will worship “Mother Nature” and so on.  We pray God will open their eyes to the truths of His Word and to Him who made everything and everyone, and we worship God the great Creator, whose very creation testifies of Him.

                                       

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