We're often told that if we want to know someone intimately, we don't have to look too far —we need to dig deep into their art or body of work. And true enough, in no time at all, we will peel away layers upon layers of the person's character, his true nature laid bare before us. This statement also holds with God. His body of work is all around us, giving us a glimpse of His true nature and character.
1. The Galaxy Put on Full Display God's Wisdom
Looking up at the heavens, we can't help but be amazed and dumbfounded by how massive, intricate, majestic, and awesome our universe is. So mind-blowing that even Albert Einstein, who doubted the very existence of God, couldn't fathom that this vast universe, the way it's created with such sharp precision and with all its endless number of milky ways and galaxies, could come into being by accident. You see-- the slightest miscalculation can throw the whole solar system into utter chaos, endangering everyone's lives here on earth. It's no wonder, Einstein, with all his qualms and doubts about God, was once quoted as saying that there must be an Intelligent Being behind its creation.
Considering God’s wisdom, His precision and meticulous way with which He carries out tasks, should anyone then be justified for having skepticism or mistrusting God’s ability to manage our lives, trusting Him to take complete control of our future?
The way He masterfully brought forth everything into existence, down to the tiniest details, only goes to show that we have no reason to doubt, nothing to fear. We can entrust everything to His care, and breathe easy knowing that He’s all too powerful, wise, dependable, and trustworthy.
2. The Cyclical Nature of the Seasons Shows That God Wants Us to Rely on Him
The changing of seasons is a humbling reminder that our lives are also governed by the cyclical seasons of life. Just as a proud tree shoots out its green leaves and shiny fruits in spring, the autumn season, however, can decimate everything it produces, losing everything in the process. If you've passed by a naked tree that's stripped to its last leaf, you know what I mean.
God wants us to realise that difficult seasons don't last if we continue to rely on Him, seeking His guidance in everything we do, so that even during the driest spell of our lives, we will remain standing. Just like that naked tree in the meadow, seemingly worn out and withered as it struggles to weather the autumn and winter seasons, it will remain undeterred because it knows it will make its big comeback come spring.
3. The Ants Show That God Abhors Laziness
Before the rain comes, I would often notice an army of ants going out and about, carrying anything they can grab onto, shouldering morsels of food twice their size, and dumping their loot inside the tiniest holes no one can enter. They are preparing for the rainy days ahead. That's why I am not at all surprised that God Himself used the ants' diligence, resourcefulness, and perseverance as an example for people to follow and emulate.
God Himself is hardworking. Didn't He work for six full days and rest only on the seventh day? We're not saying that we ought to work 6 days a week. It only shows that we are created for good work, that we're not brought into this world to rot in laziness but to use our God-given talents to contribute to advancing God's kingdom here on earth, both in small and big ways.
4. God Shows His Relentless Spirit in Nature
God is simply relentless.
If there's one thing I've learned about a side of God I didn't notice before, it is His relentless nature.
You can see God's relentless nature in the way a butterfly rips itself out of its cocoon after months of brutal, silent fight. In the way ants carried morsels of food twice their weight for weeks or even several months, in the way a seed rips through dirt and mud, dragging itself up, refusing to die.
Reading the Scripture, we would realise that once God puts His heart into something, He is relentless. He will make sure that whatever He sets His heart on, He will accomplish it in His own time. Let us take the Jews, for example, even though thousands of years passed, His heart's desire came to fruition.
Did He not declare a long time ago that He would bring the Jews back to their homeland? True enough, despite thousands of years of exile across many different nations, the Jews still ended up returning to Israel. This happened despite the Jews' refusal to go back to the land. Can we blame them? Israel, before their return to Eretz Israel, was mostly desert, and it was infested with malaria-causing mosquitoes. Marshes and swamps were poorly drained before their arrival, turning many areas into a breeding ground for a type of mosquito, Anopheles, which is responsible for the spread of malaria in the region.
It’s a desert country where even a cactus struggled to thrive, according to Mark Twain, something he noted in his diary during his visit to the land in 1867.
But God is relentless. Whatever He set out to do, He brings to life.
Once a barren desert for more than two thousand years, the land has once again melted back into what it was known for, a land of milk and honey, a land of grazing cows and flourishing haven of fruits, veggies, and flowers of all kinds, just a few years after the Jews cultivated the fields and settled in their homeland.
“But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.” Ezekiel 36:8 NIV
And He is relentless in His pursuit of you. Year after year, He is shaping you into the kind of person He aspires you to be. He shapes your character through life experiences and the people He sends your way, the souls He meant for you to meet. That is why we’re confident that “ He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NIV
5. God's Gentleness Is Visible in Nature
Whether it be a soft rain falling into the meadow, a mother swan guiding her young, a gentle stream flowing over rocks, a mother bird feeding her babies 100 times a day, dandelion seeds drifting in the wind, or the kindness of strangers–we can feel God’s gentle nature.
Atheists and even some Christians often describe God in the Old Testament as wrathful and vengeful, exacting severe, insufferable punishment against those who defied His commands. Truth is, some Christians even think that the God of the Old Testament seems different from the God of the New Testament. It is as if God has a contrasting character. Wrathful as a lion in the Old Testament and gentle as a dove in the New Testament.
If we were to scrutinise the reason behind God's wrath in the Old Testament, we would realise the grave circumstances that compelled Him to exact severe judgment against His subjects. Before punishing a person, a group of people, or a nation, God would send repeated warnings not for days or months but for years, even decades, before executing judgment. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah came about due to the sexual immorality and other immoral acts that ran rampant in those cities. Men's lust burns against each other, and so on.
God was merciful and gracious enough to send His prophets throughout the years to warn people about the impending catastrophe that would befall them if they would not repent of their sins. Yet, time and again, for decades, the inhabitants remained defiant, stubbornly rebellious. And when the judgment was about to be carried out, didn't God agree with Moses' proposal several times as the latter pleaded with God to spare the city from His wrath? But in the end, there weren't even 10 righteous people in the land. And so Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but only after decades of warning.
God is not wrathful. He is a God of justice. That is His nature, and as such, He carries out what only a just God is drawn to do: to exact judgment when dire circumstances demand it.
Being intimate with God isn’t just about carving out time to spend with Him in prayer; it's about cultivating a deeper relationship with Him. It’s also about knowing God for who He is. And we can do so by observing His wonderful works around; nature has a way of revealing God’s heart. The more we know Him, the more our love for Him is engraved deeply in the heart, enabling us to be transformed into kinder, gentler souls.
“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 NKJV
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:3-6 NKJV
Photo credit: © Pexels/Cliford Mervil
