Episode #157 Delighted by the Discovery – Cultivate Wonder

Hey friends, it's Jen. And today we're taking a look at creation to wonder at God together. Now, if that's a familiar practice for you, don't stop this episode. I promise God has something new that he wants to show you. And if the opposite is true for you, if you're listening to me say “we're taking a look at nature” and you're thinking, ain't nobody got time for that, stay tuned. You know our episodes are always short and God has something he wants to show you here.

The Bible is full of verses that talk to us about how God is on display in his creation. And we get to experience that. We get to notice the beauty of nature. We get to be in awe of creation in the midst of our daily lives.

Sometimes it's easier to recognize that when we're on vacation with different scenery than our day to day. But right now, outside your front door, there's nature surrounding your home. There are clouds in the sky. There's probably squirrels roaming around. And, depending on your seasons, there might be flowers springing up from the ground or snowflakes that are still hanging from bare tree branches.

God is on display in all of creation. And sometimes it just takes a few seconds to slow down and notice and appreciate the beauty of the world around us. And the focus of today's episode isn't just on the beauty of creation in the mountains or the trees or in the sunrise, but it's also the beauty of God in us as his creation.

I'll read a few lines for you from my poem called "On Display," which is in the poetry collection, A Beckoning to Wonder. It’s talking about how God and his grand story is on display by his intentional design. And it says,

“Nature that takes our breath away
Declares the One who gives us breath.

The world abundant with purposeful intricacy
we scarcely understand.
With depths and heights and far
reaching places left undiscovered.
And every human’s fingerprints
patterned to only you.

God’s story also manifest in us.
In us.
His creation.” (Jen Weaver, “On Display” in A Beckoning to Wonder)

I don't know if you've ever had the experience of nature taking your breath away in a good way. I had the opportunity in January of 2020 to travel to Peru and while there, a group of us got to go up into the Andes and see Machu Picchu. When I tell you our train and then later our bus would turn a corner and I would see the mountains with the clouds and mist covering them…it was kind of rainy and it would literally make me gasp out loud with how beautiful it was.

In the poem I also talk about the intricacy of creation. Scientists believe that no two leaves have ever been identical and in a similar way, that no two humans have fingerprints that match each other. We also are part of God on display. But you don't need to take my word for it, nor do I want you to. So I'm going to read several verses for us today.

As you consider these verses, I invite you to consider the world around you. Yourself and your loved ones, your friends, and your family as God's masterful, beautiful creation. The nature in the nearby parks or in the most exotic locations, also displays of God's beauty and creativity, his eternal nature, and his power.

And I'll start with Romans 1:19-20.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17)

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3)

“To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

“For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

I'm including this episode in our series on cultivating wonder, because sometimes we just overlook it. Sometimes we just need that reminder to slow down and to notice or to pay attention.

For me, part of the transformation that came through in writing a beckoning to wonder was seeing myself as part of God's creation that has him on display.

God has placed his image in you, God has placed his image on display around you. And that is wondrous.
But sometimes—especially if you're in a full season, or a heavy season, or a stretching season—wonder and curiosity and nature can feel removed from what you really need in your circumstances. And so we're bringing that into our conversation with God today, because God knows exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. I believe that he wants to use this conversation, yes, to prompt wonder for you, but also to meet some of those practical, tangible needs in your life today. And so here's our question:

God, what does creation have to do with you and have to do with me?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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