God is Speaking

A widow in deep sorrow sat alone at the park. Months earlier, her husband of many years had been killed in a car accident.

“God, I’m so lonely and sad,” she prayed aloud. “The last words I said to my husband the day he died were harsh. I just want him to know I love him and I’m sorry.”

As she finished her prayer, two cardinals landed on the sidewalk in front of her, so close she could almost touch them. A gasp escaped her lips and a tear rolled down her cheek. Cardinals were her man’s favorite bird. There they were—not just one, but two. Mates for life.

The word cardinal means “of prime importance”—the main thing.

God wanted this woman to know the cardinal truth—that she was loved. He saw her need and answered her prayer. God whispered to her spirit. Her man knew she loved him and that she hadn’t meant those ugly words.

And now she knew it too.

Look and Listen

God speaks to us, and we can experience him, through nature.

Romans 1:20 says, “Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (NLT).

Look at fields of wildflowers or autumn trees and you may well hear God’s whisper of love.

Mountain ranges so beautiful that they take your breath away exalt God and speak of his majesty.

The exhilarating crisp, cool air and the wisps of wind are like kisses from heaven.

Digging in warm earth, partnering with God to create food and flowers, are ways we experience God revealing himself through nature.

He reveals his creativity, power, and beauty through nature so that no one can deny him.

And sometimes . . . he uses nature to speak right into our hearts.

Markers of God’s Love

I’ll never forget the first time I stood in the ocean.

It was 2:00 a.m., and the moon hung low in the sky above the expanse. On the full horizon, from left to right as far as I could see, sky met water. Gingerly, I stepped into the ocean and felt the battle of the surf as the incoming waves sucked away the receding waters.

As I stood in the tug-of-war in those shallow waters, eye to eye with the huge yellow moon, I felt God speak peace and assurance into my spirit.

I’d come to this ocean at war with my husband. We were in a perpetual tug of wills, and this trip was arranged to reset and restart our relationship.

As I stood shin deep in the Pacific, I knew that the God who had set the moon and stars in place, who had created the vast waters in front of me and orchestrated this moment in time for me to experience his limitless power and majesty, could certainly bring peace to my turbulent marriage.

That moment has stayed with me as a reminder, a marker of God’s love and consideration for me.

Whenever I experience upheaval in relationships or an overwhelming sense of dis-ease in my soul, I remember how the God of the universe set the boundaries for the ocean, and hung the moon, and allowed me to experience them and know his love and concern for me.

What about you?

Has God spoken to you through nature? If not, maybe you aren’t listening.

Let his creativity and power show you that he who put the stars in place knows and loves you deeply.

Leave me a comment sharing ways you’ve noticed God speaking to you lately.

Verse

Prayer

God, so many times I wonder if you’re there. If you see me. If you care. And then I encounter you in nature so powerfully it makes me weep. You are so gracious, Father, to reveal to me the love you have for me. Greater than your love for the sparrows. Greater than for the lilies of the field. O Lord, you are so good to me. Amen.