God said, "It is Very Good"

August 2, 2012
Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth:
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good," (Genesis 1:31 NIV).

Friend to Friend:
It's 7:05 AM. I'm sitting on my patio with a cup of steaming coffee in my hand and a well-worn Bible in my lap. A gentle morning breeze ruffles my hair. Quietly, God whispers, Listen.

"What God," I answer, "Are you going to tell me something special?"

Just listen.

I close my eyes and let the sounds of morning paint a picture on the canvas of my mind.

A robin sweetly sings. She's answered by a crow's caw. A red bird chirps and a high pitched staccato tweet interrupts. A dove coos sweet nothings to his lifetime mate and she returns coos in reply. An orchestra of various birds fill the air like instruments tuning before the curtain rises on a new day.

The telephone rings and I am startled back to reality as the modern day task master demands and requests. The day has begun, and I promise to sit with the Lord once again at day's end.
It's 7:05 PM. I am sitting on my patio with a steaming cup of coffee in my hand and a much-loved book in my lap. Once again God says,

Listen.

"Are you going to tell me something special?" I asked.

Just listen.

The birds are still singing, but their songs are masked by other noises congesting the air. Cars roar as they speed down the nearby highway. A plane soars overhead leaving a trail of rumble following behind. A violin whines as a child practices her lessons. A little girl squeals with delight as she's chased by her daddy home from work. A rhythmic thump echoes on the concrete as a teenage boy bounces a basketball on the sidewalk. An ambulance siren pierces the evening as it heads to rescue someone in distress. A train whistles in the distance.

The phone rings again, but this time I ignore the interruption. The Lord calls me to sit still and think about the two bookends of my day.

I thought about the beauty of the undisturbed morning with nature awakening to a new day. That must have been a sampling of what God heard in the garden before He created man. But amazingly, He chose to create us anyway. He knew what we would do to His perfect world. He knew the cacophony of sounds we would introduce: yelling, crying, arguing, gun blasts, boom boxes, cars, airplanes, trains, and bombs – all drowning out the sounds of His creation. And knowing what He knew, He looked at man and said, "It is very good."

No matter how much noise we make, no matter how much mess we make, no matter how many times we interrupt, if He had to do it all over again, He wouldn't change a thing.
As you go about your day, stop and thank God for His gentle whispers among the noises of life.
Oh God, You are very good.

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, sometimes I wonder why You bother with us at all. And yet, You love us. You looked at man and woman in the Garden of Eden and said, "It is very good." I am amazed at Your great love for me.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

Now It's Your Turn
When is the last time you rose early in the morning to listen to God's creation before the rest of the world began to stir? Give it a try. Set your alarm and join God in your backyard. Take a pad of paper and write down your thoughts. Note the sounds of creation that you hear.

Yes, we do make a lot of noise and make quite a mess, but as one song writer said, "These are the signs of life." Make a list of the signs of life you see around your home today. Perhaps it is a bicycle in the front yard, a toy left on the floor, a dirty sock peeking from under a chair. These are the signs of life in our little part of the world.