I truly love the fall season. I love the cooler temperatures, the colors that paint the trees, and the way the sunsets highlight them. There is something about the fall sky that has a unique way of contrasting dark clouds with rays of sunlight. The combination of all these things simply makes being outside a special time to experience God’s creation. Simple things—but they make a difference.
My Wife and I love enjoying these simple things as we take daily walks in many of the parks we are blessed with throughout York County, Pennsylvania. Over the past two weeks, we have had the opportunity to see God’s hand—not only here in York County, but also during our vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
While we were there, we had the blessing of experiencing the focal point where the ocean meets the land during a Nor’easter. With sustained winds of 35–40 mph for 3 straight days, the ocean became a churning, powerful force. Yet there were still seagulls, pelicans, and osprey soaring in the gusts.
Some might see those conditions as unfavorable for a vacation. But we saw them differently:
“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.” —Psalm 96:11–13
The display of God’s majesty and power is provided for us everywhere we look—if we have eyes to see.
Sure, we could have looked at the ocean and seen something angry and devastating. Instead, we chose to see it as a canvas painted with God’s power. His majesty was evident as we looked beyond the sea and enjoyed watching the birds delight in the smorgasbord of dining opportunities the churning waters were turning up for them.
We live in a world that often seems determined to focus on the negative aspects of what is happening around us. While we were in the Outer Banks, we received inquiries from friends and family asking about our safety because they were seeing the effects of the Nor’easter on the news.
While many were understandably concerned, the reality was that to the locals we interacted with, it was simply a typical season of wind and rain. In fact, we didn’t even experience the rain—just the wind.
Some offered apologetic sentiments that we couldn’t have had a great vacation because of the weather. But we enjoyed every minute of it. We enjoyed the new experience and took advantage of opportunities we may never have experienced in typical “beach” weather.
I think we can consider many things in this same light.
And as the church, I believe it is of critical importance that we do so.
Many people will come into the church seeking something different from what the world is offering. I believe we need to be the witness of an amazing God who is present with us in every situation.
We need to be the experience that helps people see through the turbulence of wind-swept waters and recognize that even in rough waters, God’s hand is present—providing in ways that are different from what we might expect and producing results we may never have imagined.
As my Wife and I stood at the end of a windswept walkway over the dune where we were staying, we experienced incredibly strong winds and gusts that actually moved us. Our faces were pummeled by sea foam coming off the ocean, and the combined noise of the wind and waves made it virtually impossible to speak to one another.
And we loved it.
Instead of seeing disappointment because we couldn’t enjoy the beach in the way we had anticipated, we saw the power of God. We saw His majesty in His creation, and we simply took it all in.
We enjoyed our relationship with God because we have been working hard to deepen that relationship with Him. We saw His power and allowed Him to impress upon us His grandeur.
I wonder, if we had not spent as much time in His Word as we do, would we have had the same response?
One of the keys to being a disciple of Jesus Christ is knowing Him—knowing God. And He has provided His Word as a means by which we can know Him, learn from Him, and grow in our relationship with Him.
Our experience last week demonstrated that knowing Him provided us with great joy in seeing His work in nature. We came away from that experience with great benefit because we were able to see beyond the circumstances and recognize the God who was present within them.
As the church, we need to provide that same opportunity for those who enter our doors.
We must be certain that we are teaching the Word of God through our worship in the sanctuary, as well as in bible study and small-group settings.
Early in my pastoral service, I was asked how the leadership team of the church I was serving could measure the success of the church and the direction in which we were headed.
My answer was this:
“When our education and small-group classes exceed the number of folks we have in worship…then we will know that we are on the right track.”
When we develop an intense desire to know God through His Word—so that we can teach it, live it, and share it with those who do not yet know Him—that’s when we can consider that we are fulfilling what God has called us to do.
If you have any doubts about that, let’s get into the Word together and wrestle with it a bit!