Xanthe Hancox

How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. Psalm 104:24-25 (NIV)

I love nature documentaries. Give me a cup of tea, a box of choccy biscuits and the soothing sounds of David Attenborough and that's my Friday night sorted. And now that technology's advancing faster than ever before, we're able to know and understand more about the natural world than ever before. I watched most of Blue Planet II with my jaw open, over-dunked biscuits falling into my tea as an octopus disguised itself in a suit of armor made from seashells, picked a fight with a shark and won.

Psalm 104 is a magnificent ode to God as Creator and I’d encourage you to read all 34 verses.

Verses 24-25 give a particularly interesting testimony to God’s sovereignty and mastery over the natural world. These verses begin much like the psalm begins, by lauding God for the marvelous works of creation. Verse 24 however goes on to say: “in wisdom you have made them all.” Nothing in the body or behaviour of that octopus, or any of God’s creatures, is haphazard or arbitrary. Our God is a God of detail, of perfect, harmonious design. All things have a purpose, and nothing is a happy accident.

The Bible mentions animals many times. Sometimes they're the main character in a story, other times they're used as a metaphor. Join me during October as we discover what God’s word has to teach us by looking more closely at all his creatures, great and small.

Prayer: Lord, your glory and purpose is evident all around us every day if only we stop to look. We worship you, the God of beauty and balance, detail and design.