And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31 ESV
(emphasis added)

I love spending time in nature– walking, riding, or biking through woods and meadows, hills and valleys, along lakes or rivers.  God has created such beauty and majesty in every part of our world!  I grew up surrounded by woods and water– lakes, rivers, old forests and new-growth woods, with lots of farmland and meadows spread out over low rolling hills.  So it is always with wonder that I look upon mountains, deserts, rain forests and jungles, and tropical settings because they are not part of the “normal” landscape for me.  Even so, I never tire of the sites that greet me year-round–the steady breaking waves rolling in off Lake Michigan; the babbling of a small river or stream over field stone as it races down a small hill toward a pond; trees bowing and dancing in the wind just before a storm, or snow sparking across the frozen fields…

Nature is not just beautiful.  It gives us yet another way to experience God’s “nature”– his character and provision.  God is steady like a rock– strong, enduring, a safe refuge.  God is refreshing and life-giving as a river– ready to wash away aches and soothe us.  God is eternal, and his love is as vast and deep as the ocean.  God is mysterious as the forest–giving shade and cover, and concealing treasures, and ancient secrets.  God is faithful and steady as the sunrise and sunset and the pattern of the seasons. God is as open as a meadow, as pure as an ice shelf, as glorious as a desert sunset.

My husband and I recently returned from a vacation in which we drove through mountains and valleys, traced rivers and streams, and watched the rain falling gently on thirsty fields and meadows. We saw crags of ancient rock, watched happy cows resting in the shade of a copse of trees, saw herons at the edge of a small lake, and dipped our toes in a natural warm spring. We saw geese flying south for the winter, and squirrels chattering as they gathered nuts. It was beautiful, and it all spoke of a God who created variety and complexity, who cares for the land, the flowers of the field, and the birds of the air, and who calls to us through the beauty and grandeur of ordinary days in His Nature.

  I pray that we can experience both aspects of God’s nature today–His Sovereignty and His Creation–and praise Him for who He is and how He has revealed Himself all around us.