Creator God Revealed

Photo essay by Gail Smith

Psalm 36

5 Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

 

your justice like the ocean depths.

 

You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.

 

7     How precious is your unfailing love, O God!  All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house,

letting them drink from your river of delights.

 

9 For you are the fountain of life,

 

the light by which we see.

 

Solitary Spaces in the Wild

By Jeannette Doran

  I have always loved the wild of nature. As a small child I would run off to an empty space surrounded with lush foliage to my secret hiding place and would occupy myself for long stretches returning with a heart filled with joy and peace.

This sacred space amidst the greening filled me with a serenity I’ve never forgotten.

My last year of college I listened with awe as my roommate described the in creditable beauty of the Chiapas jungle where she had spent the previous summer. My desire to go there grew over the coming year and I overcame many obstacles to track over hills created by jungle growth the coming summer. I went seeking God’s presence in the vast cathedral-like splendor of the tropical jungle.

I was not disappointed in my time spent there; it truly prepared me for my life choices.

The wilderness in the wild centers one guiding us to make wise decisions.

God Speaks in a Variety of Ways

As evangelical Christians, we have a firm commitment to the written Word of God. That is as it should be. However, we forget that the first revelation that God gave was through that which He created. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:20 “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.”

I made my usual pilgrimage to the Black Hills of South Dakota this summer. The sacred beauty of that holy place never fails to strike me afresh each time I visit. The mountain grandeur: great hoary ponderosa pine, deep fresh water lakes teeming with life, cool moonlit nights filled by a galaxy of stars ebbing, twinkling and sparkling along the Milky Way. Here in the sacredness of God’s created order His voice wafts to me through the trees astride a gentle mountain breeze. God’s voice comes quietly, yet it is strikes me like thunder. My human spirit longs to be quelled by the Spirit of Creator God.

Perhaps you do not have the luxury of making a pilgrimage this summer to a favorite place filled with this kind of majestic certitude as I often do. Yet, you can afford to embrace the sacredness of God’s creation wherever you are. You can immerse yourself in its beauty and listen with the ear of your spirit to His still and thunderous voice. Perhaps connecting with the Holy through His created revelation will provide you with a fresh avenue of communion unlike any that you have experienced before.

Michael Elmore

Bettendorf, Iowa July 2011