Gary Miller
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 12:56 pm

I have a recent vivid memory. It's not going to impress you, but I can't get it out of my mind. I went to the woods, got out of my truck, walked a few steps, and looked up and around. I didn't look for anything in particular. I just looked around. I looked at the trees, the bushes, and the sky. I think I looked for an unspoken message in an otherwise unknown language. I remember looking for something that would give direction that I had not had before. Usually, every trip to the woods has a very specific purpose. It's to look beyond every other sight for the hopes of seeing what I came for - usually a deer or turkey. Most of the time, I really don't see the forest for the trees. Or I don't see the trees for the deer. Usually, I am so wrapped in a singular objective, I miss the opportunity to see something equally important, but for a different purpose or area of my life. I knew that sometimes creation speaks regarding a subject I had not contemplated. And instead of looking for a response to a question, I needed to pay attention to her statement. So, I looked and listened. I can imagine the great Jewish King David making this same trip and looking to the hills and sky for a unique message. I can imagine him getting away from man and manmade structures in order to cut the distance between God and himself. I can imagine him understanding the need to eradicate anything that would remind him of man, while he needed to hear from God. And although I don't know what heavenly message he heard at that moment, I do know he heard something. He confirmed it in a song. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4 NIV) The next time you go to the woods, take some time and look specifically for God's message to you. His direction might be found in the clarity of His creation.