During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1
Throughout my life, I have been a person who has spent time in and enjoyed the outdoors. As a boy I was involved in Scouts (yes, I’m an Eagle Scout), and in my young adult years into now “later adult” years, I have experienced and explored the outdoors. I’ve been on mountaintops watching the sunrise, and seen sunsets from lofty peaks as well. I’ve separated myself from campfires to be able to look up and see the Milky Way. I’ve stood on shorelines watching waterspouts and observed lightning illuminate a darkened sky.
I remember being stopped in my tracks one night, as I turned back toward our house in Mississippi after taking out the trash, to see a spiderweb of lightning works its way horizontally across the sky. I stood in our driveway, my mouth hanging open, until I managed to say (pray?), “You are SO COOL.”
Sadly, I think that too often we take the beauty of the natural world for granted. Sure, when we get that occasional snow and the world is blanketed in white, we think of its beauty. But have you stopped to consider the Artist behind that beauty? Do you realize that the Lord chooses each day to paint a glorious sunrise, and sketches breathtaking sunsets to help us see how truly glorious his work is?
The pastor of the church in which I grew up once spoke to me about walking in a gentle snowfall as he made his way through a cotton field hunting rabbits. He said it was one of the most spiritual moments of his life.
C’mon; slow down. Get up in time to watch the sun break the horizon. Turn off the TV, or step away from electronics and watch the sun ease its way down, and marvel at God’s handiwork.
For Reflection
- Is there a place that you go with any sense of regularity that allows you to experience and appreciate God’s glory in nature?
- Is there a piece of art in your home—or a picture on your phone or computer—that displays the beauty of God’s creation in nature? Use that to meditate on God’s glory!
Prayer
Truly, Lord, your work is beautiful and glorious. You reveal yourself to me in the awesome simplicity of nature. Help me today to slow down and see your work, your glory, in the world around me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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