God Speaks Through Nature

(needpix.com)

Creation Care has been the topic of sermons at our church this month. This topic brought to mind several verses about creation. Probably one of the most quoted is 

Luke 19:40--Jesus says "Listen—if they were silent, the very rocks would start to shout!". 

This is a popular verse but is often misquoted or misunderstood. Prior to this verse, the Pharisees are demanding that Jesus quiet His disciples and refuse to allow them to speak. It is then that Jesus lets them know that even if He told the disciples to be quiet, the rocks would speak. This has always been one of my favorite verses. It reminds me of so many other verses that talk about the creation and how it speaks about and even praises God.  

Psalm 148:1--"Praise the Eternal!

All you in the heavens, praise the Eternal;
    praise Him from the highest places!"

Some time ago my son, Christopher, and I were talking about the verse from Luke and this idea and he discovered some great YouTube videos that take this concept, of the rocks crying out or speaking, to another level. One person has taken slices of tree rings and plays them on a record player. (Voice of the Trees)  In another the energy emitted by planets and moons has been turned into sound. (Planet Sounds) I encourage you to watch these videos. Clearly the verse in Luke is more a reality than a metaphor. If you also consider the sounds made by the birds, the seas, the whales and dolphins, they all have their own way of singing and giving praise to God. In this video, Louie Giglio shows how the sounds of the stars and the cries of the whales fit perfectly into a song. The video is lengthy but interesting. If you're impatient to get to the song it is at 6.00. If you choose to skip to the marker, I'll explain that the sounds he is using to "create" the song are the sounds emitted by the stars' energy and the whale cries and he has them on a loop. (Louis Giglio)


Psalm 19:1--"The celestial realms announce God’s glory;
    the skies testify of His hands’ great work."

                                   (photo:  Kari Farnell)

Psalm 66:4--"The entire earth will bow down to worship You
    and will sing glory-songs to You;
    they will sing praises to Your name!"

I believe that as Christians we have a two-fold purpose in this world. One is to share the love of Jesus with others to help usher them into the kingdom. The second purpose we have I believe is that of praising God. If you think about it, we cannot usher someone into the kingdom without praising God. God clearly formed ALL of His creation with the ability to praise Him. It seems nature does not have to be prodded to sing His praises and proclaim His goodness. Often humans are the ones that shrink away from this mandate to praise God. 

The "Happy" Mountain-Peru
Photo: Kari Farnell

Let us not become complacent in doing the jobs for which we were created. Let us keep pace with nature and sing our praises long and loud to the One who created us. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us--" For you will go out in joy, be led home in peace.

        And as you go the land itself will break out in cheers;
    The mountains and the hills will erupt in song,
        and the trees of the field will clap their hands."  (55:12)

God Speaks Through Queen Esther

Were you ever in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or maybe even the right place at the right time?  I have been. Sometimes I wonder what in the world am I doing here, or why am I here? Other times, it is very clear why I am where I am. Confused? I hope not!. The scenario is a little bit like the story of Queen Esther.  

Not the picture you expected to see of Queen Esther? I must digress for just a moment. This IS a picture of Queen Esther, but not the one from the Bible. I cannot talk about the story of Queen Esther without thinking of my grandmother, who is pictured. Her name was Queen Esther; named for an aunt. Much like the Biblical queen, my grandmother was a woman of great hospitality, caring, and godliness. 

Now back to the famous Queen Esther. If you are familiar with the story at all, you know that Queen Esther was Jewish and was unexpectedly chosen to be the new queen for King Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes. As the story goes on, Haman, side kick to Xerxes, decides to do away with the Jewish nation because he has a bone to pick with Mordecai, Esther's cousin. To make a long story short, because Esther is queen, she is able, with God's help, to prevent the execution of all the Jews and to cause the death of Haman. 

One of the passages in the story of Esther that I enjoy the most is Esther 4:14 (NIV): "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

The last part of this verse was especially helpful to me as I approached my first week at a new school. After being in a Christian school and Christian atmosphere for 20 years, I was feeling intimidated and very out of place. I was unsure how I would cope with the very different tone and spiritual differences then I was used to. As the week went on and I continued to read the story of Esther, that portion of the verse really stuck out to me. "...who knows but that you have come to your...position for such a time as this?" God began to speak to me and placed a little excitement in my being to see what I might be able to do for HIm in my new bearings. Ideas began to race through my head and although they are still racing, I know that God will let me know what my place is in this position. I look forward to seeing how I can best exemplify Esther this year. 

God Speaks

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Have you ever had an experience like this before?  Maybe you were caught up in your own self, or you were expecting a dramatic answer to your pleadings to God. Waiting and waiting for an answer to come.  Maybe you weren't expecting an answer from God at all, when suddenly, there it is...the still small voice.  An experience just like the one had by Elijah. 

1 Kings 19:11-13 (NKJV)

"God’s Revelation to Elijah

Then He said, 'Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

That is the purpose behind this blog.  After working at the same job for twenty years, God shook me up and moved me around.  (More about that later.)  In the midst of this "moving", I began to think about creating a blog to share with others the inspirations that God speaks to me.  His still, small voice is revealed often as I explore nature, explore Scriptures, and seek His answers to life's questions.  The still, small voice of God seemed to be nudging me and I decided to take the leap. Come along and enjoy the ride.

(photo credit: Kari Farnell)

Now, let's talk about how God moved me. After my daughter graduated, in 2015, from the local Christian school at which I worked, I began looking around at other job opportunities thinking I no longer NEEDED to work there in order to pay tuition for our kids. I searched for years. One year I even put in about 20 resumes and had I believe 10 interviews, but no one wanted me. I started the 2018-2019 school year with the same mindset; somewhat satisfied and somewhat not satisfied.  I would cry out to God saying, “God tell me what to do”. With no direct answer, job opportunities would appear and I would apply and be denied or never interviewed. Finally around April 2019, I decided, “Ok, since I’ve found nothing else, I guess God wants me to stay where I am.” So I gave up looking, gave in to God and determined to stay put. Having finally given up MY search and MY thoughts on where I should be, God put His plan into motion. 

Isaiah 55:8

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  (NASB)

Around mid-July 2019, after working there for 20 years, our principal text me to see if I would be willing to work part-time and do some basic record-keeping duties instead of teaching. I knew that there were big changes in store for the school as the principal was retiring and the budget was tight. My husband and I have always lived paycheck to paycheck so we both knew that a part-time salary was not going to work in the end. At the time, I accepted her offer, because I knew that if I didn’t, the only other option was to let me go and I felt part-time employment was better than no employment. 

The very next day, I was able to put in several applications at local public school systems and was called for an interview immediately. There were three interviews in total and then I sat and WAITED, getting more and more nervous about what was going to happen when school started and I only had a part-time salary.  I was struggling to keep off of MY focus and trying to see God’s focus; waiting for that still, small voice. Waiting is difficult! Giving things totally to God is difficult!

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Psalm 27:14

Don’t give up. Wait for the Eternal in expectation, and be strong. Again, wait for the Eternal.  (The Voice)

Finally, all of the waiting and willingness to give God complete control, paid off! I received a call with an offer of employment without a lot of salary cut and with a better drive (5 minutes from home). So my new adventure begins in September! I thank God for His faithfulness and provision!

Romans 11:1

Now I ask you, has God rejected His people? Absolutely not! I’m living proof that God is faithful. 

Throughout this time, I have looked for and found that still small voice. Sometimes, it answers in a negative and sometimes in a positive, but when we wait and listen, we will hear it!