Creation calls us to worship the Lord.
“And as You speak
A hundred billion galaxies are born
In the vapour of Your breath the planets form
If the stars were made to worship, so will I”
So Will I (100 billion x), Hillsong
“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.”
Psalm 96:11-13:
I remember watching a documentary on television years ago. It had a very famous host who would go around to universities talking about the wonders of the natural world - its flora and fauna - and how beautiful and intricately put together nature is. I remember being confused when he claimed to be an atheist.
I thought to myself - this is impossible!
And this confusion has continued.
It has bothered me for a very long time. How can you look around you at the vast beauty of creation and yet deny the existence of the Creator?
As a child I tried to count the stars, lying in our backyard and staring up at the sky.
In ages gone past people worshipped the heavens. They fed their children to rivers and volcanoes. They bowed down before rocks and trees.
And there are many still today who are involved in these kinds of pagan belief systems.
Just as we have a multitude of people who look at creation and are too blind to look beyond - blinded by the arrogant belief that they are the be all and end all of their own story - there are those who look at creation and recognize a sort of divinity in it - the divine spark of the One who spoke and brought it all into being.
You see, the fingerprint of God is upon His work.
We were created to worship.
But often we are confused.
We worship creation instead of worshipping with creation.
In the Psalms especially we see this idea of nature created as a testimony to the glory of God - all of creation points towards the Creator. (EG. Psalms 148, 104, 19, 8, 96).
Are there situations in our lives where we have created idols out of creation instead of looking to the Creator?
Have we created idols out of things, people and places? Our work? Our ministry? Our hobbies? Our relationships?
Some of us look at the creation around us and fall in love with some aspect thereof. Like our forefathers who found joy in the moon and worshipped her for her beauty, or saw the lightning and bowed down in awe and trembling - we bow down to the things we love and fear.
Others still are like the documentarian I mentioned in the first few sentences of this devotional. Some of us have created idols out of ourselves.
The knowledge that we are meant to worship is built into us - into the very core of human nature. We cannot escape it, just as we cannot be rid of our need for food and drink - it is as natural to us as eating and drinking, maybe even breathing. We all worship something.
Paul writes in his second epistle to the Corinthians: 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4:4).
The god of this age - the adversary, Satan - has blinded the minds of unbelievers and often even good Christian folk, tricked us into either mistaking the fingerprint of God on creation as random chance or even into missing it all together.
Jesus, again and again, points us to nature to explain the Kingdom. From the mustard seed to the vine and the lily. He shows us in His parables that there is much to learn from observing the natural world around us - not just about the thing itself - but about the underlying reality of God and His Kingdom. Jesus shows us, gives us a look behind the curtain, in the hopes that we will see God’s fingerprints in everything around us.
The Psalmists and the Prophets also try to teach us to see God in the everyday - to see His majesty in the mundane.
All of creation was created to point us towards the Creator. So that we may revel in the beauty of the works of His hands.
That we may consider the lily and the sparrow and become aware of His nature - so that we may become aware and familiar with His nature through observing nature around us.
Colossians 1:15-17:
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. “
We too were created to point others towards the Creator. We too have been made to worship.
For from Him, through Him and for Him are all things. (Romans 11:36, Revelation 4).
The stars were made to worship - and boy do they worship - shining so bright in the depths of the night, ascribing beauty and splendour and glory to God!
The stars were made to worship. So will I.
Prayer: Lord, today help me see Your fingerprints all around me. Help me see Your mark on the things You have made. And as I consider the natural world around me - the beauty, the splendour, the grace and strength - the majesty hidden in the mundane - let me ascribe all honor and glory to You. As I look up at the clouds, at the stars, at the beauty that surrounds me - let it be a call to worship You. Help me see You in others Lord. Help me see You in me and in the smaller details of my life. Let the scales fall from my eyes and let me see You everywhere I look. In Jesus Name. Amen.
For more of Andre's work, check these links:
https://kingdomrevolution.co.
https://adlabuschagne.co.za