King's News 27

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Enjoying the view

An appreciative perspective from Joanna Pearson

Having recently moved to Tavistock from a Midlands city because of work, I am delighted to enjoy fresh air, birdsong and beautiful scenery every day instead of traffic pollution, noise and concrete. Although moving house was stressful, I thank God that I can now live in such an unspoilt part of his creation, and have the faculties to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells.

This train of thought reminded me that people in Bible times also looked at nature and were amazed. The Psalmist said "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 verses 3-6). He was so struck by the difference in magnitude between himself and the wonders of creation that he exclaimed "When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers….what is man that you are mindful of him?"(Psalm 8 verse 4).

I often wonder why God bothers about us when we are so small and insignificant compared with other parts of his wonderful creation, especially when we seem so good at messing it up. But Jesus assured us: "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" (Luke 12 verses 24-28). Jesus Himself was sent to us because God loves us so much that He wants to rescue us from the darkness that is in the world due to sin.

Sometimes we look at our lives and think: "If God cares so much about me, and had the power to create the universe, why have I got so many problems? I don’t care whether there’s beautiful scenery because my life is so difficult. Why doesn’t God do something for me now?" The answer is that if we pray, God always does something, but not necessarily what we want Him to do because He can see the whole picture and we only see part of it. God explained this to Jeremiah, Isaiah and Job. Jeremiah was assured that "I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29 verse 11). However, Isaiah was cautioned: ’"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."’ (Isaiah 55 verses 8-9). When Job complained that his life had been ruined and he wanted to die, God replied (among other things): "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand… Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea..? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons?.. Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom..?"(Job 38 verse 1-41 verse 34) Job’s only answer was "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand." (Job 42 verse 3). He went on to have a long and productive life because God blessed him when he finally realized that he could not understand God, and it was futile to argue against someone so much more powerful.

So, although we may not understand what is happening to us at the moment, we can look at the wonderful scenery around Tavistock and be assured that the God who created it cares for us even more, and always wants the best for us, however bad things feel. He knows more than we do about our situation and always answers when we pray, especially when we acknowledge that He understands better than us.

Joanna

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