The other day I was appreciating the wonderful flowering plants that were available at our local nursery. If it were up to me our entire yard would be one of blooming flowers and trees. Neil, my husband, likes grass though. Plus, he is the one to care for all the growing things in the yard and opines that cutting grass is easier than pulling weeds.
Our Sunday school class is studying the Bible Book of Jeremiah. This tells of a troublesome time in the Israelites’ history when they had turned from the true God to false man-made gods. As I have been pondering what we are learning the thought came to me that at times in the history of God’s people we repeat lessons that we should have already learned. Without Jesus we are people who seek almost every path except the one that follows God’s will – the very creator of the universe and each one of us.
You might be wondering how these two thoughts coalesced in my mind. I am fairly certain that everyone who has studied the Bible for any number of years sees the connection between the history we read in the Bible and the current events in our world today.
As I am watching along with everyone else the changes in our weather and the related catastrophes and loss of human life I see changes in our natural world. Because nothing happens without the knowledge of God, I can safely assume that all these changes are in His final plan – the big picture.
God used Jeremiah to explain that God, who is shown as a potter in the example, has every right to do with the clay (me and His creation) as He sees fit. God also tells me that one day the earth will be made new again and the ball I am sitting on now will be gone.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.’” God has made man His caretaker of the earth and we are to be good stewards of His creation always seeking the Creator’s will and direction for its upkeep.
God has blessed men with great minds so that if we seek God we can proceed wisely with our caretaking job. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10
We know from all that Jeremiah wrote that a drought hit Israel and the crops failed. We are told the drought did not occur because God wasn’t paying attention but because He was. He was watching as His people strayed from their love for Him and He intentionally chose to withhold the rain to get their attention. God’s chosen people had left their trust in God and started to worship gods made in their imaginations. The prophet Jeremiah pleaded repeatedly for the people to repent but they did not, causing not only the crops to continue to fail but eventually the Babylonians capturing Israel.
As I sit here with my beautiful flowers before me and the sun and the rain as God gives it I am feeling mightily blessed. Of course, this very same day there are people who are enduring or who have recently survived tornados, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and more. I ponder then does God use the weather to encourage us to seek Him? Have we forgotten to thank Him for His good blessings and trust Him through the rough times?
Not soon forgotten is our encounter and devastation from Superstorm Sandy. I can tell you I was praying almost constantly from the time we knew this storm was going to hit through it enveloping us and then moving on. From my own experience I would say that severe weather does make me seek God’s face. It gets my attention very much focused on Him.
I do love this beautiful earth God has given mankind where we are able to reside and work. It is my joy to wake up to sunshine and to watch the ocean waves. As this joins in my thoughts with the words of Jeremiah I keep in mind that, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1-3. This is God’s earth. God’s people are prudent to seek the wisdom of the Owner so that we can care well for His Creation.
Let us pray that we remember the lessons of our Bible’s history to seek God’s will for not only us but our beautiful green earth.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
