Devotion – Tuesday, 11 May
Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from Deuteronomy 10 verse 14, “Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth also, with all that is in it and on it,” (Amplified Bible). Throughout scripture, we are called to behold God’s creation. The creation story teaches us that God created everything, and he was pleased with everything he created. When we are down-hearted and feel that we are not what we ought to be, we need to consider that God has made us. God is pleased with us, but he knows that we are made of dust, and that we are not what we ought to be yet. He reminds us with the sunrise of every morning that we can celebrate a new day and start over again. He reminds us with the dusk of every evening that he wants to give us rest to restore us so that we can continue to grow in grace. Looking at the starry sky we marvel at the beauty of the heavens. We are overawed at the vast dimensions of space spread above and below us. It is our God who has this awesome structure of the universe in his hands. If God can hold the universe in such perfect balance, surely he will sustain us. He will give us all that we need to be able to continue our lives on earth while we sing and praise him. This is a consoling truth to give us courage and spur us on: our God has created everything and everything belongs to him.
As we prepare our hearts and minds celebrating the Ascension of our Lord, we are reminded that we are not left as orphans here on earth. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to teach us in Truth and with compassion. Our eyes can turn to the mountains and our lips profess with the Psalmist, “I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where shall my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth,” Psalm One Hundred and Twenty One, verses 1 and 2. Looking at the mountains we gain perspective, we see their structure and shape, their sturdiness and the vegetation growing on them. The mountain tops are like spires of church and cathedral towers, reaching out to God in prayer. We cast our eyes over the sea, and like the sky, the vastness of the great waters proclaim to us God’s awesome and creative power. Because we are made in his image we have received his creative power in us. This power gives us new words and new songs of prayers and praises to sing to the Lord. We know that our Lord has risen and ascended and sits at the right hand of God, and we also know that he will come again. When our Lord comes again, we will praise him not only as we are able, but as we ought.
In the last Book of Scripture, Revelation, we read in Chapter 14 verse 7, “Fall down before Him: pay Him homage and adoration and worship Him Who created heaven and earth, the seas and the springs of water,” (Amplified Bible). The Apostle John tells of his vision of an angel flying in the air proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus to every nation, race and tribe, language and people. When Jesus comes again it will be with great trumpet sound and jubilation for he is the Prince of Peace and his rule in the Kingdom of God will bring to an end all strife, sickness, tears and death. Living here on earth, beholding the glory of God’s created things, is a pale glimpse and foreshadow of what we can expect in heaven. “For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim reflection.” If the earth in all her beauty, the plants and flowers, the singing birds and glorious animals, the forests and dales, the mountains and creeks, the rivers and lakes, can give us such sense of tranquillity and joy, how much more will we not be in rapture, when we behold heaven? Despite all the beauty of the earth, God delights supremely in humans and he planned and proposed for their return to him in glory in the New Jerusalem.
Father, how beautiful is your creation. We praise your holy name, Amen.
