ODJ: what our world tells us
The heavens proclaim the glory of God (v.1).
READ: Psalm 19:1-6
Dr. Clyde S. Kilby, longtime English professor and noted devotee/interpreter of C. S. Lewis, formulated and passed along 11 life resolutions. The tasks he strived to do every day were designed to keep his heart open to imagination and his eyes open for God. One of his resolutions reads: “Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are, but simply be glad that they are.” Kilby’s lifelong belief was that wonder lies all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it.
Scripture tells us that God’s wonder and majesty are woven into all of creation. Wherever we turn, wisps of glory and bits of beauty announce to us that God is near. The psalmist announces that “the skies display [God’s] craftsmanship” (19:1). And these skies (and all that lies beneath them) tell a story. Oh, how they tell a story! “Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known” (v.2).
The fact remains, however, that we have to be listening; we have to be looking. The voices echoing all around us, in every yellow daffodil and rippling creek and whispering willow, are strange voices. They do not yell. They do not shout and struggle to capture our attention. Rather, they “speak without a sound or word” (v.3).
A beautiful mystery: Creation always speaks, yet never says a word. And the name always spoken, though never uttered, is God.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning captures the spirit of the psalmist: “Earth’s crammed with heaven. And every common bush afire with God. But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
—Winn Collier
What spiritual encounter have you had when surrounded by nature’s beauty or ruggedness? How can you train your eyes and ears to hear and see God’s wonder?
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Loading ...ODB: God is here
March 2, 2010
READ: Luke 4:16-21
[The Lord] heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. —Psalm 147:3
Leslie and her two daughters were about to be evicted from their home. Although Leslie believed that God could help, so far He hadn’t given a clue as to how. She wondered, Where is God? As she drove to the courthouse, she prayed for God’s intervention. Then she heard a song on the radio proclaiming, “God is here! Let the brokenhearted rejoice.” Could this be the assurance from God that she was longing to hear?
Inside the courtroom, Leslie stood before the judge, heard his decision, and signed the legal documents, but still God had not given her an answer.
As Leslie was walking to her car, a truck pulled up beside her. “Ma’am,” said the driver, “I heard your testimony inside the courtroom, and I believe God wants me to help you.” And he did. Gary helped Leslie get in contact with a woman from a local church who was able to work with the parties involved to reverse the process so that she and her girls could stay in their home.
When people ask, “Where is God?” the answer is, “Right here.” One way God is at work is through Christians like Gary who are continuing the work Jesus started—healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds (Ps. 147:3). — Julie Ackerman Link
When we love God, we will serve people.
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