All creation bows before Him

Sometimes the devotional writer makes statements that bypass what the Bible says. Today, he writes that worship “distinguishes man from all other forms of life on earth.” The psalmist and Isaiah would not say that. Besides telling us that “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1), other verses say:

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.” (Psalm 96:11–13, also see Psalm 98:8)

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12, also Isaiah 44:23)

We live in a condo complex that has tall aspens, those trees whose leaves seem to dance in the wind. When I watch them, Isaiah’s words come to mind and as the trees worship God with uplifted ‘hands’ I often do the same.

That said, the Scripture for today gives the reason for worship, not explicitly but it is in this passage:

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.’ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ‘Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.’” (Genesis 17:1–8)

Abram was old and not able to do what he could do as a young man. Perhaps he was not as hung up on accomplishments as I have been, but he had to reach this place of helplessness before God declared again this covenant and the promise of offspring and fruitfulness. The reason for worship in this passage and in the entire Bible is that God does it. In our own strength, humanity can do nothing. The Bible says we do not seek God (Romans 3:10ff) or worship Him. We go our own way (Isaiah 53:6) and because of that, God stepped into our world to redeem us from our sin. He took the death we deserve and gave us the life we could never achieve without Him.

Because of that, I can worship Him . . . but the trees had it figured out long before I did!

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, today is a new day. I slept almost all of yesterday, but in sleep You blessed me with new understanding and with further healing. You are able to use all that happens for good for those who love You, and You even give us that ability to love.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:10–12)