This is the first of seven devotions I have written for d365.org. d365 has been a favorite resource of mine for over ten years. It has been a privilege to write for them! Please visit the website for the full d365 experience
PAUSE
Our God is one – unity.
Our God is three – diversity.
Our God is three in one – mystery.
LISTEN
Psalm 8 (CEB)
Lord, our Lord, how majestic
is your name throughout the earth!
You made your glory higher than heaven!
From the mouths of nursing babies
you have laid a strong foundation
because of your foes,
in order to stop vengeful enemies.
When I look up at your skies,
at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars
that you set firmly in place—
what are human beings
that you think about them;
what are human beings
that you pay attention to them?
You’ve made them only slightly less than divine,
crowning them with glory and grandeur.
You’ve let them rule over your handiwork,
putting everything under their feet—
all sheep and all cattle,
the wild animals too,
the birds in the sky,
the fish of the ocean,
everything that travels the pathways of the sea.
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
THINK
If you think back on a time that you felt closest to God, you may realize that it was a time at camp, gazing at stars, or spending the day at the beach. Very often, when we surround ourselves by the awe-inspiring, unforced beauty and power of nature we also find ourselves open to connect with God in a deeper way.
When we find ourselves surrounded by nature and feeling so close to God, it can be hard to stay silent! When we’re on top of a mountain we want to YELL! But sometimes, we also want to sit quietly and soak it all up. We listen to the wind in the trees or the birds singing.
This says so much to us about our Creator God. A God who creates because God delights in it! A God who wants to share this with us because we were created with the ability to! Our God is also in conversation with us, so yell and marvel, but listen too. God is speaking.
PRAY
God, creator of the cosmos, sometimes we feel so small in the midst of all that you have created. Let your creation be a reminder to us that we are valuable and precious because we are yours. Open our ears to listen for your voice. Open our eyes so that we can see you always with us, no matter how close or far we may feel from you. Amen.
GO
Work for unity.
Engage diversity.
Welcome mystery.