scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
All the oceans and the seas know the sound
Of Your beautiful voice
And if You tell them to be calm and be still
They have no other choice
You put the stars in the sky and then You taught them to shine
They know just what to do
Every morning's a symphony that's perfectly timed
Thanks to beautiful You
Beautiful You, I can't imagine life without You
Beautiful You, I can't imagine being alone
Beautiful You, the only thing I ever want to do
Beautiful You, is have You hold me in Your arms
All the waterfalls know just where to fall
Brilliant every time
When it rains, You are behind it all
With gentle rhythm and rhyme
Mountains high know Your voice and they are ready to move
Where You tell them to
With all my heart, I believe that I can do the same
Thanks to beautiful You
Beautiful You, I can't imagine life without You
Beautiful You, I can't imagine being alone
Beautiful You, the only thing I ever want to do
Beautiful You, is have You hold me in Your arms
Every ocean, every sea
Every morning's a symphony
Every drop of rain, every waterfall
All the stars in the sky are so beautiful
Every breath I breathe, every beat of my heart
I feel so alive cause of who You are
Every day I rise, every time I sing
I'm reminded of Your great love for me
You're beautiful, so beautiful
Beautiful You, I can't imagine life without You
Beautiful You, I can't imagine being alone
Beautiful You, the only thing I ever want to do
Beautiful You, is have You hold me in Your arms
Beautiful You, I just want to be around You
Beautiful You, I can't imagine life without You
Beautiful You, there is nothing that I can't do
Beautiful You, when I build my life around You
Psalm 8:1-9
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Romans 1:20a
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.
Reflection
There are upsides and downsides to everywhere you could live. Different areas have different gifts and different costs, and these might vary depending on your personal preferences. Some love rain and cloudy skies, while others hate it. Some prefer cooler weather, while others would prefer living in the tropics.
I live in Southern California, the land of little rain and a lot of sun. There are many lovely things about living there — you can get to the beach or the mountains fairly easily, pockets of various cultures means an array of tasty cuisines readily available, there aren’t that many mosquitos, the heat is dry enough that being in the shade makes a big difference even in summer. But living there, I often become a little numb to these gifts, and the glimpses of God that I could see in the beauty there. It’s easy to forget the gift that a mild winter can be until the shock of out of state friends reminds me. We adjust to wherever we are, and beautiful things become normal, boring, everyday things.
Scripture makes it clear that God has revealed something of Himself in creation. Though the person of Jesus is our clearest picture of God’s character, His creation also communicates something of who He is and what He is like in its creativity, scope, breadth, and intricacy. We see from all of creation a God who is powerful, detailed, creative, humorous, wise, and so on and so on.
But living somewhere it’s easy to lose track of these things because of how familiar we become with our surroundings. Awe-inspiring views become normal. Adverse weather is just something to navigate and deal with. Forests, beaches, mountains, deserts, plains, rolling hills, even cities - whatever we are surrounded by, it’s easy to get so used to it that we stop noticing what it tells us about God. We fall asleep to what it has to say about our Creator.
Take some time to be outside in creation today. What gifts are there in your surroundings that are easy to overlook? What do they communicate about God? What most easily draws your heart to worship God? Talk with God about what comes up.