“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty — and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works — and I will proclaim your great deeds” (Psalm 145:4-6).
Do you ever stop to meditate on God’s majesty and power? Sometimes it feels easy for us to remember how great and powerful God is. Other times, when we fall into a routine and don’t make intentional time for Him, it can feel harder. Regardless of where you fall in this spectrum, all of us can benefit from taking a brief moment to pause and look for God in the world around us. We serve a God who puts beauty in everything, from the smallest details to the biggest, most earth-shatteringly joyful events. God is active and present in every breath we take.
In college, my ministry group would go camp up in the mountains every summer. One of the things we did there was called a “retreat of silence,” where for three hours, we were to find a quiet space to sit with our Bible and notebook and have an extended quite time. I always spent this time as deep in the mountains as I could safely get. By a brook, among the trees, I could see little bits of God’s creation all around me.
We can see God’s hand at work in all aspects of our lives, both big and small. And it can be these simple reminders of His goodness, creativity, planning and majesty, that can help us to know Him better and feel closer to His heart. These moments, ultimately, should lead us to worship Him. And there’s nothing our Father loves more than for His people to rejoice in His goodness!
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Why Do We Need to Remember God’s Majesty?
What is God’s majesty, anyway? Merriam Webster defines majesty as “sovereign power, authority, or dignity; greatness or splendor of quality or character.”
There are many different ways we can think about God. As a loving father. A righteous judge. A royal king. A humble servant. But I like to think of him as a fantastic artist and inventor as well. James 1:17 reminds us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” The greatest gift He has given us is our salvation in the form of His Son, Jesus. With that, there’s truly nothing else in life we need. But our loving Father has blessed us further with a beautiful world, incredibly complex bodies, and constantly changing technological advances.
Why shouldn’t we consider these things as good and perfect gifts as well? And once we see them as such, we should praise God for giving them to us!
Often, these simple things go unnoticed, feeling mundane. On the other hand, some of the biggest things in the world, like galaxies and atomic theory, can feel too big and confusing to comprehend. God is in them all. Genesis 1 tells us that God made everything in the earth. And after creating everything, every seed and nebula, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
We are creatures of habit, and it’s easy to fall into a rhythm and not notice the miracle of God’s creation all around us. But when we do see the beauty – not just as a random nice moment, but as an intentional act of God – we get to see a glimpse of our Creator God. He is powerful. He is creative. He is intentional in everything He does. Pausing to reflect on this can only lead us into a place of worship.
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Seeing God in the Big Things
“For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker” (Psalm 95:3-6).
The pastor of my old church loved space. Any chance he got while preaching to bring up stars, planets and galaxies, he did. And personally, even though I barely scraped a passing grade in astronomy, his words were always moving. The sheer size of the universe is mind-boggling!
Take the sun for instance. It’s something mundane, something we see every day and don’t often think about. That star that gets in your eyes on your evening commute and nourishes your tomatoes in the summer is about 91 million miles away. But still, it’s rays can reach into your home and make a nice warm tanning spot for the dog.
The earth is even placed in exactly the right spot for life to be habitable. Stuart E. Nevins, M.S., writes:
“The earth is just the proper distance from the sun to maintain the right surface temperature suitable for life and the many important geologic processes! To the evolutionist the distance of the earth from the sun is a strange accident, but to the creationist it is a marvelous testimony of God's planning.”
Every detail of our world, both the big and the small, were designed on purpose by our Creator God.
Seeing Him in the big things is both encouraging and can make us feel incredibly small. But that only helps us to understand how big our God is. He is greater than the mountains, the oceans, the galaxies. He is that powerful and all-consuming, but He cares infinitely for one so small as us. What a marvelous love that is! That God should care so deeply for specks in the universe like us.
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Seeing God in the Small Things
“The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:11-12).
It's good to remember God’s power and majesty in the big things of life. But Ezekiel reminds us that sometimes, God reveals himself in “a gentle whisper.” These are the moments we must be actively looking for. If you are standing in a loud, crowded room, you will be much less likely to hear someone whispering your name. The solution? Moments of quite prayer and meditation. Ask God to reveal Himself to you in the small ways, and be open to seeing His hand throughout your day.
There’s a creative exercise that challenges you to notice three things around you and write all you can about them. What if you were to do that right now, but look for the ways that our Creator God has done incredible things in the simple aspects of your life? What do you see around you?
The eyes you are using to read this are instantly translating so much complex information, and you don’t even have to think about it. In your pocket is probably a device that can instantly connect with anyone in the world, perhaps even just from a voice command. Outside, a tree has retreated in on itself, patiently waiting the opportunity to bloom again in the Spring.
Every single one of us has a unique fingerprint. If you live somewhere cold, you may have snow falling outside, each individual flake different from the one around it. Researchers just recently discovered a new "nano-chameleon" that is only 13.5 millimeters long! It's believed to be the "smallest reptile in the world." Luke 12:6-7 reminds us "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
We serve a God who cares about and notices the little things. He put care and thought into the minute details. We don’t necessarily need to see something majestic to be reminded of God’s incredible majesty. Sometimes we just need to take a closer look at the small things around us.
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A Prayer to See God’s Majesty Everyday
Dear Heavenly Father,
God, your majesty is truly incredible! When I look at the mountains and the raging ocean, or even listen to the sound of my own heartbeat, I am reminded that this is all here because of you. God, each breath I take is a gift from you. But I confess that I often fall into a routine, or even focus more on the broken, sinful state of the world than I do on its beauty. Forgive me God, for the times I forget You. I ask that you would be with me all throughout my day and remind me of the simple beauties and miracles all around me. Help me to be open to your still, small voice, and awe-inspired by the big things that you do. I want to know you more intimately God, and to see more moments in my day to offer you thanksgiving and praise. I thank you for every blessing in my life, Lord, from the smallest to the biggest. In your name I pray,
Amen.
Look Around
You don’t have to be a science geek or a nature lover to see God’s majesty in the world. We are reminded of it every time we open our Bibles, every time we feel His presence in quiet moments of prayer, and every time we feel great joy. But we can, and should, still seek out moments of spontaneous praise at the wonder of the world He has created for us.
Take some time this week to practice being more aware of your surroundings. How do we see God’s character in the mundane? What miraculous thing have we grown accustomed to? Stepping out of your routine in this way could completely change your outlook on the world and will bring you to a place of worship for our creative, intentional, innovative God.
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Originally published Friday, 28 May 2021.
