A Quiet Walk with Him

One of my favorite poets is Wendell Berry. He writes,

“Slowly, slowly, they return

To the small woodland let alone:

Great trees, outspreading and upright,

Apostles of the living light.

Patient as stars, they build in air

Tier after tier a timbered choir,

Stout beams upholding weightless grace

Of song, a blessing on this place.”

Nothing calms the spirit like abandoning the stimulation of industry and technology for a walk among the “great trees, out spreading and upright”. Nature bows before a God in control of it. The universe is not its own. It is not in control. It is not to be thanked. All that is, is His. Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” In Colossians 1:15-18 it says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation…He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

Nature and weather with its unpredictability serve as interactive art. The resident artist desires to take up residence in your heart. He has carefully painted the new day’s “silver and green and gold”. We are the beneficiaries of His talented eye for detail and His unmatched might. As a result, nature is, at its core, a living example of just how much He loves us.

Take a quiet walk with Him – just you and Jesus in His nature. Notice the sun through the leaves- a canopy of bright lime. Which way is the wind blowing? What has recently bloomed? If it’s raining, listen to it fall and if it’s safe, step out into the downpour! Rain is a not-so-subtle reminder to bust out of our comfort zone and entertain our child-like spirit!

“Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him.”

1 Chronicles 28:9

Let Him fill you with wonder!

“But oh! So tenderly He led me on

And up, and spoke to me such words of cheer, Such secret whisperings of His wondrous love, That soon I told Him all my grief and fear, And leaned on His strong arm confidingly.” -L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert