What lessons from God’s creation can we find about His character, especially in Alaska? This is Part 2 of my blog posts on Lessons from Alaska about God’s Character and Ours. I could probably take these lessons from God’s creation and expound on each one for several blog posts! I hope you enjoyed the first five lessons.
More Lessons from Alaska and God’s Creation
6. God will always provide for His creation.
He is Elohim (Creator) and He is Jehovah-jireh (Our Provider). The woods and mountain trails of Alaska, like so many places, are filled with needed provision for both man and animal. Through nature and river rafting guides we learned of trees and plants like the spruce, fireweed, skunk cabbage, and so many other wild sources that yielded fruit, food, and medicine.
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so (Genesis 1:29-30 NIV).
7. Trees grow upside down and sideways in Alaska (sort of). But the ones (including believers) that grow by rivers of water are the ones that will prosper.
(Watch out for the beavers, though!) “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:2-3, NIV).
As believers, staying close to the Source (Jesus) will help us yield “fruit” in season.
8. You just can’t get enough of God’s beauty. (Yes, I also learned that I’m a photoholic). But 725 pictures later, I could tell those photos show only a minuscule fraction of what God has prepared for His children.
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—(1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV).
9. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. And our best attempts to preserve beautiful places like Alaska will eventually end.
In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13, NIV). “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (Revelation 21:1, NIV).
But though this earth is passing away, while we’re here, we can thoroughly enjoy and give thanks for what God has given us to do.
10. He is the Light of the World. Be diligent in the Light while you can.
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4-5, NIV).
I had hoped to capture an Alaska sunrise and sunset, but it was a little difficult. In the interior part of Alaska in Denali Park, sunset was around 12:10 a.m. Sunrise broke through about 3:15 a.m. Summer nights are short in Alaska, but winters reverse the hours. Kids leave for school in the dark and come home in the dark. This picture is the closest I could get–a premature sunset as seen through a hotel window–somewhere about 11:25 P.M., I think.
We will not always have the opportunity to be lights in the world and to share the light of Jesus with others. “Night” comes for all of us: as we age, as we come nearer to the time for our own deaths, or when Christ will return someday.
Alaska’s strange daylight and dark patterns remind me to stay faithful and keep sharing as long as God gives me breath.
My Personal Prayer for You
Lord, how we praise You for the beauty of Your creation. Teach us daily about Your character, and fill us with a passion that gives light to others and bears witness of You all our days. You are awesome and beyond comparison!
Day-votedly Yours,
Rebecca
If you missed the Part 1 post last week, check out these first five lessons: Lessons from Alaska about God’s Character and Ours.
It’s Your Turn
What about you? What lessons from God’s creation has He taught you? Through beautiful places? Or in your own backyard? About His character? About yours? I love to hear from readers. You can always write me through my contact page. Just fill out the basic name and address info, and then the email will come to me. Your name or info will never be shared with anyone without your permission.
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