Did you know that smelling the roses can be good for you?
We can learn a lot from the world around us.
Sun and sky, plants and animals, from the biggest star to the smallest flower all teach us about the glory of God. In them, we can see His power and majesty.
But they teach us something else too.
They teach us about God’s love for us.
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?Matthew 6:30
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
We go through this world with little thought about what it’s meant to teach us. We don’t see a tree as some instructor, the sun as a guide to knowing God.
But God fills this world with reminders about who He is. The theology we see in the pages of Scripture is brought to life before our eyes, living and breathing life. We walk on a carpet of God’s promises.
The next time you see a bird, remember this is no accidental flying animal. It’s a divine proclamation. Every bird is a reminder both of the greatness of God and of the greatness of His love for you. As the bird flies, know that God is watching over it. That He knows every flap of its wing and every tiny breath that fills its lungs as it soars. And He feeds it and cares for it. And if it falls, He is there. And then know that God feels the same, feels even more, for you.
We live in a world filled with flowers and grass. Tiny paint pots of God’s creative beauty. God clothes these most fragile of things, which shine for but a moment each season. But we’re not just supposed to see a flower or a blade of grass, we’re supposed to see us. “If God takes care of them in such a marvelous way, how much more will He take care of me?”
These are all reminders that God has placed in the world for us to see, but we miss them. We see the birds, we see the flowers, but we miss what they are meant to teach us.
So today, look for birds. Keep an eye out for flowers. And know that every bird you see and every bloom in your path is not a mistake but a message, not an accident but an announcement, a promise, an assurance from God.
God takes care of that bird and He takes care of you.
God provides for that flower and He will provide me.
And He put them both there for you to see and to know.
If you do that, if you’ll look for these message bearers, you’ll notice a world teeming with life, full of birds, overgrown with flowers, carpeted with grass, and each one a giant shout from your God. It will be overwhelming. And you’ll be shocked you never noticed before.
Our world is full of God’s promises to us.
Today, let’s take a look around and let’s listen to what God says about His love for us in every bird and in every bloom.