SCRIPTURE: Job 39
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Do you know when the wild goats give birth? Have you watched as deer are born in the wild? Do you know how many months they carry their young? Are you aware of the time of their delivery? [Job 39:1-2] Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar and spread its wings toward the south? [Job 39:26]
We have come a long way; we do know much more about the natural world than they did in Job’s lifetime.
We could probably answer the first questions positively – yes, we now know when the wild goats give birth, yes we have watched as deer are born in the wild (via the Discovery Channel), yes, even Wikipedia knows how many months deer carry their young (up to 10 months).
But the next question – is it our wisdom that makes the hawk sore – is different.
The obvious answer is NO, we are not the ones that designed things, therefore we do not ultimately know how they work.
Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? [Luke 12:24-28]
Jesus is challenging His followers to trust in God’s wisdom and power, and not their own.
Neither worry nor stress nor hard work can guarantee our success or survival.
Sure, we have figured out a lot of things, we’ve come a long way in terms of technology and science.
But we still have not eliminated the world’s problems, or the mysteries of why things are as they are.
At the end of the day, no matter how advanced our understanding becomes, we are still not wise to the world.
The study of science and the advances of technology are not opposed to faith in God; in fact an honest appraisal of all the facts and evidence will naturally lead to a recognition of something/someone higher and greater than us.
What some people call Intelligent Design, or what most people throughout the world call God, is imprinted on the DNA of the universe.
Look to the goats, look to the deer, look to the ravens, look to the lilies.
It is not our wisdom or power that sustains these things, and it is not our wisdom or power that sustains us.
We are dependent on the Intelligent Designer behind the Universe – and He certainly cares for us!
PRAYER:
Lord, if I allow my mind to stretch as far as it can into the depths and mysteries of the Universe, I am humbled and awestruck. Thank You for remind me of Your wisdom and power, as well as for Your deep love for me!