Take a hike....
Today's Reading: 2 Kings 3-4 & Psalms 20
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Weekly Memory Verse:
"The Heavens declare the Glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1
C.S. Lewis once wrote this about this particular Psalm of David, "‘I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."
Mr. Lewis, I whole heartily agree.
Every morning as I sip coffee on my back porch, this Psalm rises to my lips. I look up at the blue sky, the huge green oak tree looming over me, the red and blue birds if I am so fortunate to have them flitting around that morning....
and I see the glory of God, once again.
His Creation shouts of His Glory. Don't you find this to be true?
When you walk outside and breathe in fresh air. When you see the bright green leaves on a blossoming tree. When you sit by the ocean, inhaling the salt air and ears being tickled by the crashing of the waves.
There is nowhere on Earth that we can go to hide from His Creation.
Sometimes we think He is not near.
Oh, friend, just walk outside. Whether it is rain falling or snow, or a scorching hot day where the sun is so bright that you have to dart your eyes away...
He speaks.
We are enveloped in His Creation. We are swimming in His Glory.
His Glory looms over us as we discover our humanness. Suddenly, we feel small. So, very small.
When David wrote Psalm 19, nobody really knows what was happening in his life at that moment. Perhaps it was when he was on the run from the madman King Saul. Maybe it was the night his child that was conceived with Bathsheba died. Maybe it was at the height of his king glory, or perhaps even at the lowest point of his life.
No matter when it was written, David was surrounded by the Presence of God. As his eyes looked toward heaven, David knew he was never alone. God was with him.
Listen to the next few lines of Psalm 19....
SHINE Reading Plan: Go here.
Subscribe to SHINE emails: Go here.
Prayer Requests: Go here.
Weekly Memory Verse:
"The Heavens declare the Glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1
C.S. Lewis once wrote this about this particular Psalm of David, "‘I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world."
Mr. Lewis, I whole heartily agree.
Every morning as I sip coffee on my back porch, this Psalm rises to my lips. I look up at the blue sky, the huge green oak tree looming over me, the red and blue birds if I am so fortunate to have them flitting around that morning....
and I see the glory of God, once again.
His Creation shouts of His Glory. Don't you find this to be true?
When you walk outside and breathe in fresh air. When you see the bright green leaves on a blossoming tree. When you sit by the ocean, inhaling the salt air and ears being tickled by the crashing of the waves.
There is nowhere on Earth that we can go to hide from His Creation.
Sometimes we think He is not near.
Oh, friend, just walk outside. Whether it is rain falling or snow, or a scorching hot day where the sun is so bright that you have to dart your eyes away...
He speaks.
We are enveloped in His Creation. We are swimming in His Glory.
His Glory looms over us as we discover our humanness. Suddenly, we feel small. So, very small.
When David wrote Psalm 19, nobody really knows what was happening in his life at that moment. Perhaps it was when he was on the run from the madman King Saul. Maybe it was the night his child that was conceived with Bathsheba died. Maybe it was at the height of his king glory, or perhaps even at the lowest point of his life.
No matter when it was written, David was surrounded by the Presence of God. As his eyes looked toward heaven, David knew he was never alone. God was with him.
Listen to the next few lines of Psalm 19....
The Heavens declare the Glory of God,
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world
You have probably had a similar experience as David at some point or another. Even those who claim to not know the Lord, or believe in Him, have a chance to experience His Glory in Creation...every single day.
We can either choose to believe, and pursue a relationship with the Creator and His Son, Jesus, or we choose to deny what our spirits so hunger and thirst for.
Many that are spiritually lost will go away on nature hikes, or nature experiences to "find themselves". They often return feeling more lost than when they began. I believe it is because they tasted the goodness of the Lord, yet denied His existence. They continue to search, and search and search for the filling to their gaping need. Alas, until they surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus, the search will ever continue.
Coming from a girl who is not nearly as educated as I would like to be, I find so much comfort in this scripture. He constantly pours forth His speech, and His knowledge to us. I LOVE this. We just have to open our mouths and be filled. No special intellect needed. Just a heart willing to receive what God offers us.
He gives us all we need. We just have to choose to receive it.
His Word is the Bread that feeds us. His Creation is the proof of His Glory. His Son is the proof of His Love for us.
I challenge us to take some time to go outside this week. Turn off your headphones, your phones, and soak in the glory of God. Let yourself be overwhelmed by the magnitude of His Love for you. Surrender to His incredible Love and Plan for your life. Fall into His Grace and swim in the ocean of His Mercy.
going on a hike with Jesus,
jill
