Changed in the Waiting
Their Voice Goes Out
December 16, 2024
SCRIPTURE
PSALM 19
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
—PSALM 19:1-4A
PSALM 19
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
—PSALM 19:1-4A
In our busy, technology-dependent, twenty-first-century lives, we are prone to overlook some of the very best gifts we've been given in creation. The intricate details, colors, variety, and beauty found in God’s good creation are there for us to enjoy. This world was not created by some great pragmatist who only cared about efficiency. The world we live in declares the glory of God in the minutia of a hummingbird, the stunning diversity of the ocean, the mysteries of the stars, and the miracle of the seasons.
Recently a friend told me she had discovered a new pastime in bird watching. She was shy in admitting she had purchased a bird feeder for her backyard and gave time every day to watching them gather around it. Not too long ago she would have considered this a silly waste of time, something altogether unproductive. Yet this simple act has become a regular bright spot in her day and, much to her surprise, even a necessary spiritual practice. Watching the birds swoop, play, and gather while they sing, she said, brings her joy. It refocuses her attention from the details of her own life to the intricacies of the larger creation to which she belongs.
My friend is not alone. Recent studies have proven there are significant mental health benefits to spending time in nature and specifically hearing birdsong. It is especially effective in providing relief to those suffering from depression.1 While these scientific studies are certainly not making spiritual claims, they provide reminders of what Scripture and the saints have been saying all along. There is a Creator who made all that is around us and called it good. Then this Creator put us humans right in the middle of it, giving it all to us not just as pragmatic resources but also as superfluous beauty to be enjoyed.
Admittedly, some of us have an easier time in nature than others. For those who live in large cities or have limited mobility, it’s more common to be surrounded by the handiwork of humans than God’s in nature. But we don't have to be exposed to great expanses of wilderness to find joy in creation. If we slow down long enough to notice, we can be moved to wonder and joy through the intricacies of a flower in the park, trees changing in the seasons, a potted plant stretching to the light of our window, or the rapid accumulation of a billion tiny snowflakes as we watch from indoors.
The good gifts of God’s creation bring joy because they remind us of many truths. The world is so much bigger than us. This remembrance brings a kind of joyful humility so we can take our place in the beloved creation as created ones and receive the good news that we are not God. When we spend time listening to the song creation sings, we find there is waiting built into everything. Nothing in the natural world changes instantly. Each season and each change has its own process and its own gifts. Perhaps God’s good creation can teach us to trust that this is true for ourselves as well.
1. Ryan Hammoud, Stefania Tognin, Lucie Burgess, et al., Smartphone-based Ecological
Momentary Assessment Reveals Mental Health Benefits of Birdlife, Scientific Reports 12,
#17589 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20207-6.
Recently a friend told me she had discovered a new pastime in bird watching. She was shy in admitting she had purchased a bird feeder for her backyard and gave time every day to watching them gather around it. Not too long ago she would have considered this a silly waste of time, something altogether unproductive. Yet this simple act has become a regular bright spot in her day and, much to her surprise, even a necessary spiritual practice. Watching the birds swoop, play, and gather while they sing, she said, brings her joy. It refocuses her attention from the details of her own life to the intricacies of the larger creation to which she belongs.
My friend is not alone. Recent studies have proven there are significant mental health benefits to spending time in nature and specifically hearing birdsong. It is especially effective in providing relief to those suffering from depression.1 While these scientific studies are certainly not making spiritual claims, they provide reminders of what Scripture and the saints have been saying all along. There is a Creator who made all that is around us and called it good. Then this Creator put us humans right in the middle of it, giving it all to us not just as pragmatic resources but also as superfluous beauty to be enjoyed.
Admittedly, some of us have an easier time in nature than others. For those who live in large cities or have limited mobility, it’s more common to be surrounded by the handiwork of humans than God’s in nature. But we don't have to be exposed to great expanses of wilderness to find joy in creation. If we slow down long enough to notice, we can be moved to wonder and joy through the intricacies of a flower in the park, trees changing in the seasons, a potted plant stretching to the light of our window, or the rapid accumulation of a billion tiny snowflakes as we watch from indoors.
The good gifts of God’s creation bring joy because they remind us of many truths. The world is so much bigger than us. This remembrance brings a kind of joyful humility so we can take our place in the beloved creation as created ones and receive the good news that we are not God. When we spend time listening to the song creation sings, we find there is waiting built into everything. Nothing in the natural world changes instantly. Each season and each change has its own process and its own gifts. Perhaps God’s good creation can teach us to trust that this is true for ourselves as well.
1. Ryan Hammoud, Stefania Tognin, Lucie Burgess, et al., Smartphone-based Ecological
Momentary Assessment Reveals Mental Health Benefits of Birdlife, Scientific Reports 12,
#17589 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20207-6.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION, DISCUSSION, AND PRAYER
How often do you spend time enjoying creation?
What good gifts of nature are available to you now?
What gifts in your past or present are you noticing today?
How often do you spend time enjoying creation?
What good gifts of nature are available to you now?
What gifts in your past or present are you noticing today?