Cultivating Hearts through God’s Creation

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities— his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20 (NLT)

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

  • I hope you have come to the Father in expectancy today! Do you have your Bible and some time? He is ready to meet with you and lead you down the path of understanding. He promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him. Refresh yourself with the story of creation found in Genesis 1.

Cultivating Hearts through God’s Creation

If beauty is God’s handwriting, He penned a love letter when He created the universe. God’s plan from the beginning was that we may know Him from the beauty and workings of His creation all around us.

It is valuable for us to cultivate an awareness and longing in our lives and our children’s lives for nature. We are near to our Creator when we are near to His creation; to know His handiwork is to know to His heart. I want my children to become students of nature so that they clearly see God’s invisible qualities. I want them to know everything there is to know about Him and to never stop learning through the power of the Holy Spirit. Developing a heart for creation in our children will produce a harvest of righteousness in their lives and the lives they touch.

Cultivate a Heart That Sees

The first step in being close to God through nature is to tune our eyes to see that “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

We have to slow down and let our eyes focus on the simple beauty that lies right outside our windows: fields of wildflowers bursting with color and variety, the stars and planets stretched vibrantly across the sky in the early morning, animals innately caring for their young, the simple goodness of household pets, trees in varying shades of green that know times long past, majestic mountain peaks that reveal our smallness, the powerful unending ocean surf, continuous ordered seasons, and the perfectly designed seed of a plant that provides bounty in season.

Cultivate a Heart That Ponders

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. (Job 12:7-9a NLT)

Take time to watch the ant labor, the bee pollinate, the bird nest, and the spider spin. Watch the cloud rain, the wind blow, and the fire burn. We should always have this question rolling through our minds: What does this teach us about our Creator and about ourselves?

If we pay attention, God will never stop leading us to new lessons about Himself and His character. We learn and can teach our children about His provision, beauty, glory, desires, creativity, excellence, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, playfulness, and eternal nature. We can also acquire wisdom for daily living through observing natural cycles such as the hard work of sowing and reaping.

There are countless lessons to be learned from each scenario of creation. The Holy Spirit will instruct you when you have a heart that ponders.

Cultivate a Heart that Knows

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” (Psalms 139:13-14 NLT)

Can you imagine His very hands forming you? The human body is a design marvel. Its intricacies are amazing. To study it is to become more convinced of its Creator. Each one of us must know that we are God’s most magnificent creation! We must teach our children that they are made in God’s image and that He absolutely delights in them. We must impart to them that they were created with a good and necessary purpose that God himself decided long ago. We will become everything God has destined for us when we know to whom we belong.

Cultivate a Heart that Cares

When we are close to nature, we develop awareness and compassion for other living things. God is for all living things, and He wants us to be also. He is tender and loving to each creature. We must be intentional to show our children how God wants us to treat His creation, specifically animals. The Bible says, “a righteous man has kind regard for the life of his animal, but even the compassion of the wicked is cruel” (Proverbs 12:10 AMP).

God has given us dominion over the animals because He is trusting us with their care. I want to teach my children to rule with kindness. How can we serve God by how we care for his creation? The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to care for everyone and everything He puts in our path. Sometimes kindness takes sacrifice on our part. Even the smallest act of compassion will not be overlooked by God.

Cultivate a Heart that Hopes

“For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.” (Romans 8:22-23 NLT)

The groaning of creation points to God’s ultimate plan of redemption. I am often grieved over the present state of creation. We see this verse spelled out each day: abortion, sickness, disease, abuse, and suffering. I long for the time when Jesus will come to make everything whole. Romans goes on to tell us that we must “wait with eager hope” (Romans 8:23 NLT).

My soul rejoices in the thought of God restoring everything to His original intention of wholeness and perfection. Let’s remind our children where our hope lies. He has a plan for all of us; it’s coming and it’s good!

Cultivate a Heart that Praises

“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.” (Psalm 113:3)

Creation reminds us that we are but a speck in the universe. When we are aware of this, we are left with nothing of ourselves. We know it’s all about Him. When we see all that God has made under the sun, taking time to examine and draw near to Him through His creation, our natural heart will respond with praise. When we consistently point our children to God and His handiwork with thankfulness, worship will follow—it’s what we were created to do!

Blessings and Love,

Tara F.

Questions to Ponder

  • After spending time with God today studying His creation, think about the area toward which you feel He is calling you to be a more intentional steward.

Faith-Filled Ideas

Start a nature table and journal with your children. Begin collecting different items from nature that you find. Take note of animals and insects that you see or read about. When you discover something, have your children illustrate or write about it in an ongoing nature journal. Backyard bird feeders are a great way to bring in wildlife for you and your children to view and identify.

Find a way to care for animals. Remind your children how God cares for them and how we should too. Some simple ways God has shown me over the years are to shop humanely for food when possible and to avoid buying products needlessly tested on animals and instead purchase alternatives.

Read the creation story as a family and celebrate what God has done! Talk about how we are made in his image and the innate value that we hold as humans created for life. If your children are old enough, discuss the origin of life in the womb beginning at conception, and pray against abortion and the assault against God’s creation.

 

Tara Fox
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2 Comments on “Cultivating Hearts through God’s Creation”

  1. This is beautifully written; thank you for sharing what God has put on your heart and bless you for your connection to God’s heart for his creation

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