We are often told that if we want to know someone intimately, we don’t need to look far: we need to delve deeper into their art or work. And it’s true that in no time, we will be peeling back layers upon layers of the person’s character, their true nature laid bare before us. This statement is also valid for God. His work is all around us, giving us a glimpse of his true nature and character.
1. The galaxy fully showcases God’s wisdom
Looking up at the sky, we can’t help but be amazed and stunned by the size, complexity, majesty and awesomeness of our universe. So mind-blowing that even Albert Einstein, who doubted the very existence of God, could not understand that this vast universe, as it was created with such precision and with all its infinite number of milky ways and galaxies, could come into being by accident. You see, the slightest miscalculation can throw the entire solar system into total chaos, endangering the lives of everyone here on Earth. It is no wonder that Einstein, with all his qualms and doubts about God, once declared that there must be an intelligent being behind his creation.
Given God’s wisdom, His precision, and the meticulous manner in which He carries out His tasks, should anyone then be justified in being skeptical or distrustful of God’s ability to manage our lives, trusting Him to take complete control of our future?
The way He masterfully gave birth to all things, down to the smallest details, only shows that we have no reason to doubt, nothing to fear. We can entrust everything to His care and breathe easy knowing that He is too powerful, wise, reliable and trustworthy.
2. The cyclical nature of the seasons shows that God wants us to rely on him
The changing seasons are a humbling reminder that our lives are also governed by the cyclical seasons of life. Just as a proud tree grows its green leaves and bright fruits in spring, however, the fall season can decimate everything it produces, thereby losing everything it produces. If you’ve walked past a bare tree stripped to its last leaf, you’ll see what I mean.
God wants us to realize that difficult seasons do not last if we continue to rely on Him, seeking His direction in everything we do, so that even in the driest season of our lives, we will remain standing. Just like that bare tree in the meadow, seemingly worn and withered as it struggles to weather the fall and winter seasons, it will not be deterred because it knows it will make a comeback in spring.
3. Ants show that God hates laziness
Before the rain came, I would often notice an army of ants coming out, carrying whatever they could hold on to, carrying pieces of food twice their size and dumping their loot into the smallest holes where no one could enter. They are preparing for the rainy days to come. This is why I am not at all surprised that God himself used the diligence, ingenuity and perseverance of ants as an example to follow and imitate.
God himself is hardworking. Did he not work six full days and rest only on the seventh day? We’re not saying we should work 6 days a week. This only shows that we are created for a good work, that we did not come into the world to languish in laziness but to use the talents God has given us to contribute to the advancement of God’s kingdom here on earth, both in small and large ways.
4. God shows his relentless spirit in nature
God is simply relentless.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about a side of God that I hadn’t noticed before, it’s his relentless nature.
You can see the relentless nature of God in the way a butterfly tears itself from its cocoon after months of brutal, silent struggle. Just as ants carried pieces of food twice their weight for weeks or even months, just as a seed tears through dirt and mud, dragging itself along, refusing to die.
As we read the scriptures, we would realize that once God puts his whole heart into something, he is relentless. He will ensure that whatever he desires, he accomplishes it at his own pace. Take the Jews, for example, even though thousands of years have passed, his heart’s desire has come true.
Didn’t he declare long ago that he would bring the Jews back to their homeland? It is true that despite thousands of years of exile across many different countries, Jews still eventually returned to Israel. This happened despite the Jews’ refusal to return to their country. Can we blame them? Israel, before their return to Eretz Israel, was largely desert and infested with malaria-causing mosquitoes. Marshes and swamps were poorly drained before their arrival, turning many areas into a breeding ground for a type of mosquito, the Anopheles, responsible for the spread of malaria in the region.
It is a desert country where even a cactus struggles to thrive, according to Mark Twain, something he noted in his journal during his visit there in 1867.
But God is relentless. Whatever He sets out to do, He brings to life.
Once a barren wasteland for over two thousand years, the land returned to what it was known for, a land of milk and honey, a land of grazing cows, and a thriving haven of fruits, vegetables, and flowers of all kinds, just a few years after the Jews cultivated the fields and settled in their homeland.
“But you, O mountains of Israel, will bring forth branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon return home.” Ezekiel 36:8 NIV
And He pursues you relentlessly. Year after year, He makes you the kind of person He longs for you to be. He shapes your character through the experiences of life and the people he sends your way, the souls he wanted you to meet. Therefore we are convinced that “He who began a good work in us will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ.” » Philippians 1:6 NIV
5. God’s gentleness is visible in nature
Whether it is gentle rain falling in the meadow, a mother swan guiding her young, a gentle stream flowing over rocks, a mother bird feeding her babies 100 times a day, dandelion seeds fluttering in the wind, or the kindness of strangers, we can feel the gentle nature of God.
Atheists and even some Christians often describe God in the Old Testament as wrathful and vengeful, exacting severe and unbearable punishment against those who defied his commandments. The truth is that some Christians even think that the God of the Old Testament seems different from the God of the New Testament. It is as if God has a contrasting character. Angry as a lion in the Old Testament and gentle as a dove in the New Testament.
If we were to examine the reason behind God’s wrath in the Old Testament, we would realize the grave circumstances that compelled Him to impose harsh judgment on His subjects. Before punishing a person, a group of people, or a nation, God would send repeated warnings not for days or months but for years, even decades, before executing judgment. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah occurred because of the sexual immorality and other immoral acts that were rampant in these cities. The lust of men is kindled against one another, and so on.
God was merciful and gracious enough to send His prophets over the years to warn people of the impending doom that would befall them if they did not repent of their sins. Yet time and time again, for decades, residents have remained defiant and stubbornly defiant. And as judgment was about to be executed, didn’t God repeatedly accept Moses’ proposal as Moses begged God to spare the city from his wrath? But in the end there were not even ten righteous people in the land. So Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but only after decades of warning.
God is not angry. He is a God of justice. This is his nature, and as such he accomplishes what only a righteous God is driven to do: exact judgment when dire circumstances demand it.
Being intimate with God is not just about setting aside time to spend with Him in prayer; it’s about cultivating a deeper relationship with Him. It is also about knowing God as He is. And we can do this by observing his wonderful works; nature has a way of revealing the heart of God. The more we know Him, the deeper our love for Him is engraved in the heart, allowing us to transform into kinder and gentler souls.
“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 KJV
“Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. 6 He who says that he abides in him must also walk as he walked.” 1 John 2:3-6 KJV
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