Article
3 Ways Nature Makes You Mindful
The weather can be a bit unpredictable, as they say.
The weather can be a bit unpredictable, as they say.
My wife, Melissa, told me she was out on the front porch the other night, admiring the evening sunset. It was one of those soft, summery nights where the clouds had been transformed into a dazzling color palette of bright pinks and oranges. She was basking under the joyful light of this serene moment until it was interrupted by a sudden blast of thunder and lightning that pierced the sky with terrifying volume and force. She jerked back, her entire body recoiling from the violent outburst, her heart pounding in her chest.
As she related this story to me (I was out of town), it caused me to reflect on a few things that I believe could be helpful for us to keep in mind as we seek deeper communion with God and greater perspective about ourselves.
1. We Are Significantly Small
You and I have this nagging but natural tendency to elevate ourselves. It rarely takes more than one good turn of events before we begin to feel momentarily invincible. The feeling of control that invincibility offers us (however illusory it may be) is addictive. We all love the feeling of control, like we love our favorite item of clothing. But what uncontrollable elements like thunder and lightning teach us is that we are actually very powerless creatures within the vast blueprint of God’s design. Watching a storm-filled sky reminds us of our rather significant smallness. That doesn’t mean God’s love for us is small, and it doesn’t mean that we hold an insignificant place in the created order. It does mean that we need a constantly renewed perspective because our perception of God becomes terribly small at times. In the Psalms, we read how David observed the heavens to maintain appropriate objectivity.
“When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).
Yes, we are small, but God, in His infinitude, decided to draw near. His love for us through Jesus has bridged a gap wide enough to fit another million universes. Recognizing our smallness prevents us from falling into the shallowness that comes when we overestimate our humanness.
2. We Are Sovereignly Limited
It goes without saying, but Melissa had absolutely nothing on that thunder and lightning. At no point was she able to reach into the heavens and put a stop to the ear-shattering noise that came crashing down upon the earth. On a more internal level, it brings us back to how easily we overestimate our abilities, which is how we underestimate the Lord’s sovereign control over all things.
“Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).
The seemingly arbitrary nature of nature reminds us that the Lord is not a tame lion, and that the uncontrollable elements are His way of showing us that the more aware we are of our finite abilities, the more we become mindful of His limitless ability to do “whatever he pleases.” Nature can give us the impression that God acts in incredibly random ways, but it would be like us to think that, since we are creatures who don’t possess the boundless understanding of our Creator. God pointed this out to Job one time.
“Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!” (Job 38:3-5).
The fact is that we don’t possess the divine understanding of our Creator. One of the most important things we can understand about God is how much we don’t understand. And it’s a beautiful thing to live in this humble-hearted reality. When I have an ever-deepening understanding of just how limited I am, I finally have the kind of heart that looks to God in all things, not just the ones that I feel are above my pay grade.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
3. We Are Starving for Awe
None of this increase of self-knowledge matters if it doesn’t lead us back to the incomparable majesty of Christ. The deceptive facade of our CGI and AI-painted world has left us starving for awe. We are malnourished by the consumption of processed spiritual food, and the result is generations of emaciated souls. We address this aching dilemma by projecting false images of ourselves in order to satisfy our spiritual hunger, but there is only one ingredient that provides the spiritual nutrients needed to satisfy what we most long for. This is why we need to let nature make us increasingly mindful.
Let me put it like this:
- By observing a violent thunderstorm, you are reminded of the power and control God has over every seemingly uncontrollable element in the world.
- By observing the early morning dawn, you are reminded of the light of Christ that came bursting into the world so that we might have peace with God.
- By observing the ocean at dusk, you are reminded of the steadfast love of the Lord, and how it covers every corner of the unseen world.
- By observing the birds singing among the branches, you are reminded of how well God cares for creatures as simple as these and even provides them with voices to sing back to him.
- By observing the rainfall on a cool spring day, you are reminded of the vastness of God’s grace, and how it leaves nothing untouched.
And every time you are reminded, you can rejoice.
“For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his. The sea is his; he made it. His hands formed the dry land. Come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care” (Psalm 95:3-7).
