by Rev Donald Schatz

The Heart Sings God’s Praise

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.”
Psalm 104:19, New International Version

The Psalmist might have added, “…and the geese know when to form up and fly south.”  These geese spent an autumn night in a farm field next to the Redwood Coast in northern California.  They take off in the morning, form up in large circles, then turn south and continue the journey.

I never cease to marvel at the intricate wonder of God’s creation.  I know the answer to the ‘how do the geese know when to do that” question.  But I still ask it, not because I forget the answer each year, but because the spectacle still fills me with wonder.”

In this Creation Psalm, the Psalmist will eventually be unable to contain himself at the wonder that is God’s creation:  “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”  (Psalm 104:33, New International Version).

Flocks of geese and other migratory birds heading south is one of the signs of autumn.  They are reminders of the intricacies of creation.  The tireless cycle of the seasons echoes the relentless movement of God’s love to us through all the seasons of the year, and through all the seasons of one’s life.

Look around you today.  Look up today.  What other signs of summer’s closing and autumn’s arrival do you see?  Or, perhaps you feel it in the crisp autumn air, in the sudden appearance of your breath as you exhale early in the morning.  They are reminders of how wonderful our God is, written into the story of creation.

Our lives, in God’s blessing, may themselves be instruments of praise.  We live to honor the Lord, praising him all the day.  Look around you today.  Look up today.  May the Lord fill you with wonder, and make you and your day a song of praise.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO