Thoughts for the Day

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

It was the weekend of the Big British Bird Survey, when people across Britain count the number of birds they see in their gardens and send the results to the RSPB. Rain and snow threatened, but the sunrise was absolutely spectacular that morning.

The beauty of a sunrise or a sunset can be glorious but they also gives us warning of the weather to come ("red sky at night, shepherds delight; red sky in the morning shepherds warning"), and on this day the weather was horrible. In Psalm 19 the writer imagines the skies are speaking of God's glory, and their message goes around the world, so that we see something of the order behind nature.

Sometimes it feels as if there is no order to nature, and we can suffer with floods, fires, and earthquakes. Perhaps we should still thank God for nature's beauty, but refrain from building on flood-plains, remember to keep ditches and drains cleared, never mind all the other things like removing plastic, and burning less fossil fuels that would help our whole planet!

Heavenly Father,
we thank You for the beauty of our world,
for glorious sunrises and sunsets,
for the colours, sounds, and smells of nature.
Help us not to forget that we are
custodians of this world,
and that how we live affects the earth.
Help us also never to forget to thank You
for all that You have created.
Amen.