This week of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about the scripture below that describes the enormity of God’s sovereign creation- how He created the earth and created mankind. In light of the enormity of God’s creation we know as earth, mankind seems so very small. The Psalmist writes of the dichotomy between our vast world and the smallness of mankind. Were we just an after thought? Not hardly. We are the crown of His creation; the ones who are meant to care for His creation. Our value is infinite and His love for us an endless supply.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)

So why did the Lord bring this Scripture to mind this week? We have so much to be thankful for as we view His beauty in creation. This weekend I am staying out in the country. We have a small 2 room cottage where we go to refuel. I wish I could say that I get out here more often, but life seems to get in the way. But today, looking out at the trees and water nearby, this scripture took on new fresh meaning. Sometimes we need to just stop, turn off our brains for a moment and gaze at God’s beauty. I did this by sitting on my front porch and watching a large leaf on a hickory tree fall to the ground. When was the last time you watched a leaf fall to the ground? I bet like me, it has been a long time, or maybe you have never taken the time to stop and gaze. Internally it did something for me. It made me appreciate that God’s creation is extraordinary; every leaf beautiful in it’s uniqueness.

Photo by Billy Ellison

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. And God said: ” Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so. God called the dry ground land and the gathered waters the seas. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1). 

And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth…. man was created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26)

In the beginning…. God

That is the bottom line. He was in the beginning, and He created as Elohim, the magnificent display of His glory. And then crowned us with His image. Take a moment and let that sink in, and then after you read this blog, take a moment today to simply glaze at the beatify of His creation and reflect on his design for you.

So as I reflected on Psalm 8, I thought about the leaf that I watched fall to the ground. In its prime it was green and lovely and strong. Then fall came and the color changed to a magnificent golden orange. And ultimately it fell to the ground, eventually to dissolve into the earth. How like this

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-6). 

To receive future Abiding Space blog posts and daily devotionals straight to your inbox, visit Drawing Near to God.com.  Also, please become a part of the Drawing Near to God Facebook community.  If this post resonated with you, we’d love to hear from you, please leave a comment below.