Romans 1:20 NIV
"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
About a week or so ago I was on the phone with someone whom I did not know personally. While discussing business, we got on the topic of ministry and what my ministry had meant to me. In return, that person shared their desire to start a ministry with their spouse based on a scripture from the book of Romans, chapter one, verse twenty. This was a scripture that, though I had read it before, never clicked with me. My unlikely acquaintance began to explain to me what this scripture meant to them, and how they had wanted to implement their ministry around it. After our conversation, I hung up and reflected on the scripture because, up until that point, it was irrelevant to me; but not as irrelevant as I thought.
Romans 1:20, in a nutshell, tells us that we have no excuse to live in unbelief. If we look around, we can see the beauty of God's wonderful hand everywhere we turn. We can find it in nature; In the birds that effortlessly glide through thin air. We see it in those few and far between circumstances when a young man helps a little old lady with her groceries. We can feel it in the warm embrace of a loved one. God's grace is all around us!
My husband came home last night and asked my sister if she would watch our girls for an hour while he took me on a four-wheeler ride. At first thought, I wanted to protest. I had so many chores to get done still. Not to mention I hadn't fed the girls yet. Though I wanted to reject the offer, I couldn't fight the spirit pulling me to go with him. My sister reluctantly agreed to feed and watch the girls and we were off. Still caught up in my irritation due to the dishes that piled up in the sink, and the laundry waiting to be folded, I could feel the spirit in me saying, "Just wait, Taylor. This is going to be good." Obediently, I listened, kept quiet, and enjoyed the ride.
When we got to our destination, I was taken off guard. My husband had said he wanted to take me somewhere I hadn't been before. To my surprise, the long and winding dirt roads led us to his great-grandparent's old property. The place where his beloved, late grandmother once lived. In amazement, I took in the scene. The trees, now bright green and starting to bloom, blew in the spring breeze. That same breeze overwhelmed my sense of smell with the sweet scent of Autumn Olive bushes-my favorite wildflower. As we basked in the unmistakable beauty all around us, things began to click; Romans 1:20. Unknowingly, we were sitting right in the middle of the evidence Paul wrote about in the book of Romans.
After a short visit to this piece of land that had been woven into his lineage, we decided to head back home before it got dark. We had about a 20-minute drive ahead of us. As we got to the top of the hill, about a mile from the property, we were blinded by the sun. As I glanced at the sun peaking over the trees, I couldn't help but notice the tiny rainbow off to the right of it. It looked as though God had hung them both there perfectly for us to see at that exact moment. Something I think we both needed.
You see, the funny thing about this picture is the rainbow. As you can tell, the rainbow is just a small smear in the sky. It wasn't a full rainbow reaching from infinity to infinity, but simply a brushstroke on a sunset canvas. Another thing we need to note about this rainbow is that it hasn't rained here since last Saturday. It was sunny and 80 degrees yesterday. While we may be taught at an early age that we must have rain for a rainbow to appear, God is not limited to science. If He wants to put a rainbow in the sky on a sunny day, He can and will.
While God's physical presence may be unbeknownst to us, he reveals himself every day in his invisible way. When we look around, we can see his glory in every sunrise and sunset, every raindrop and snowflake, every bird and bee, every flower, and every weed. While we may feel like we don't amount to much on this earth, we must remember that we are all a part of the glorious portrait God is painting. The same mighty hand that painted this breathtaking scene, fills our lungs with air every day. Not only evidence that we are alive, but that He is as well.
It's so easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle and unbelief that comes with a busy lifestyle, but I encourage you to take a moment and just breathe. The news can wait. Social media can wait. The texts and calls can wait. Get to someplace, wherever your place may be, and take in all of the beauty that God has put on this earth and praise him for all that his hands have done.
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