THE TAKE AWAY

 MAY 20, 2022

COLOSSIANS 1:15 - 17

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 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. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Let's begin with a song today. 

Let's conclude this series of devotionals with some take away thoughts. We have been saying that God speaks through creation, reveals who he is through creation, and that through creation we have the revelation of God's presence with us always.


Here are some of the "take aways" that strike me from our reflections.

GOD Takes Care of His Creation


Matthew's gospel reminds us that if God takes care of the birds and flowers, how much more assured should we be that he will take care of each of us, His children?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:25-26


GOD Delights in Beauty


Look around as the seasons change and you will see beauty upon beauty emerging from its cocoon. An orange fiery sunset, crystal clear waters, buds developing on the trees and those same buds bursting open with the beautiful green leaves, the emergence of the Crocus or your Tulips push through the earth to add spectacular color to our world, …the list goes on and on. To see his handprint on our human bodies is to behold His "artist brush." We are His children – His creation made in His image, and are beautiful, wonderfully made. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Wow, How awesome is that? The creator, finds each of us as deserving to bear His image.


Sometimes, do you feel this way? Sometimes something is so beautiful in God's wonderful, wonderful, world that we can only stand in awe of its presence and feel the love and delight of our creator.

God's Timing is Perfect


Timing is everything. God times our lives through the timing of a 24-hour day, 365-day year, and constant motion of planets spinning on their axis at just the right angle is a testament to His control. To see the change of seasons in nature is to see God’s perfect timing, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Many times we can get stuck in fear or uncertainty. I am constantly reminded to not worry about what is ahead of me as I know my Father has it all in His hands, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)


So overall here is the take away, If God can take care of the birds, the flowers of the fields, and the winds, so can He take care of us. Your dream may not be visible in this moment, or your heart may be aching from a loss. Let the story of creation reminds us that the same God that ordains the sun to rise and set is the same God that has you and me in the palm of His hands. In His timing, all is made right by the purposes of his care and will, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)


As I am writing this I have been listening to a random playlist of songs. Do you know what song came on just now? The following words, perhaps you will recognize them:


In His Time
In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautiful, in His time,
Lord, please show me everyday,
As You're teaching me Your way,
That You do just what You say, in Your time.

In Your time, in Your time,
You make all things beautiful, in Your time.

Lord, my life to Your I bring,
May each song I have to sing,
Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time. 




Let's Pray



Heavenly Father, we scratch the only the surface of Who You are whenever we observe Your Creation. Thank You for planting a gnawing hunger in us to know so much more! Thank you that "you make all things beautiful, in your time! Lord, our lives to you we bring. Amen.