The Majesty of the Lord in Nature

Sep. 27, 2022

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    Life has moved on in a very similar fashion as it has in the last many autumns of my memory. University is in full swing, and the hallways are teeming with students, stressed about the work that lies ahead and hopeful for the meal that lies just beyond that. Late September is, quite simply put, one of my favorite times of the year. The temperature drops to a comfortable chill, and the leaves on each tree begin to blossom in hues of orange and red and yellow, maturing from children into wise old sages. 

    To me, nature itself convenes in wisdom during this autumnal equinox; as the days grow shorter and darker, each living thing bands together for survival and what warmth they can preserve during the harsh months to come. Everything that lives, breathes, and exists desires some semblance of familiarity and community within its own species. I find mankind fascinating in this regard, in that we are some of the few living things on this planet that take solace in life outside of ourselves. As we bundle our coats and we turn up our collars as we face the cool northern wind, our eyes can't help but flit to the nearest falling leaf, the swaying of dying branches, or the colors that now begin to brush across the distant mountain peaks. We are hopelessly and utterly taken aback by the beauty that God has designed in the manifestation of the cycle of life, and nowhere is it clearer than in nature, in the rising and setting of the sun, in the waves of the ocean, in the song of a bird, in the quiet and solitude of the forest. It serves no material or selfish purpose for mankind; rather, it is to be protected and preserved, not altered or damaged in any way, unto pain of beauty destroyed. 

    When I feel the earth beneath my boots, I take in all of God's glory under the canopy of oak and maple trees, stretching as far as the eye can see. When I build a shelter for the night, a hearty fire crackling and the sounds of the woodland surrounding me in its song, although a hundred bears may lie in wait beyond the firelight, I rest content. When I come to the summit of a mighty mountain peak, exhausted yet satisfied, I cannot help but stand in awe and admiration of all of the Lord my God and the majesty of His hand. It is as God intended: untouched, unchallenged, unyieldingly raw and carnal, yet a perfect picture of the life He has granted us. Nature, I believe, is a place where the presence and power of the Lord of Israel can be met and experienced in its purest form. Nature is where the still, small voice of the Lord is heard most clearly.

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-JDH