Have you ever allowed your thoughts to wander while on a long drive? If we can just silence all of our loud thoughts of the life we live, we may be able to find serenity in watching the trees wave at us as we try to keep under the speed limit. We can appreciate the deer that is standing at the edge of the road waiting to lunge out onto the highway, hopefully not in front of us. We may even wonder how the road was paved between the huge mountains and the extent of time it took just to make a path for us to travel. If we just take a moment, there are so many wonders of God’s creation that can be easily taken for granted but are absolutely breathtaking.

The Blessings of Life

It is so easy to offer thanksgiving for everyday things. We can thank God for the clothes we wear or the food we eat. Yes, He is the provider of it all. Without God, we have absolutely nothing. We should never fail to thank God for all of our family and friends. He allows us the opportunity to commune with one another and to give and receive love. These are the blessings of life. He keeps us and protects us. The psalmist helps us to reflect on what it would be like if it had not been that the Lord was on our side. We should rejoice each and every day for God’s continual blessings. We should never fail to have an attitude of gratitude.

Our Awesome God

The psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1) That long ride watching the colors of nature sway with the wind or the sounds of a nearby water brook or the rain falling to the ground are the added attractions of life. When we see the beautiful fall colors in variations of orange, yellow, brown, and red, we can just imagine God with this awesome paintbrush swiping through the earth and creating the magnificence of the fall season. Those same trees will lose their leaves and become bare. But as the weather changes once more, they will bud and again become vibrant and full of life. No man could ever take the credit for the effects of the weather on the plants. Once again, just an awesome God.

When we wake up in the morning every day, it is a moment of opportunity for gratefulness. Another day of life to live in this beautiful world created by such a remarkable God. When we get up and the night has slipped away, and the beauty of the sunrise taps on our windows, we are alive to see another day. Without fail, our sun rises every morning. No one on earth can prevent it from shining. No one on earth can tamper with its purpose. The sun will do exactly what God placed it in the earth to do. It will be there every morning shining in full strength to give heat and light at precisely the right time every day. It never changes its direction. It will always align with what God spoke for it to do.

In the Beginning God Created

That could not be the result of some fictitious explosion that just happened, resulting in everything just falling into place. Why would science rather believe in some big bang theory that just supposedly manifested order and time rather than in a very real and loving God Who wanted to supply His creation with everything they needed to love Him back? The sun rises daily. The trees come back to life seasonally. Day and night happen without fail. No one has to make sure these happen each season. Our most delectable foods and resources come from the plant life God has blessed this earth with. Did a disorderly explosion create these things? Did some black hole event in space occur?

No. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He spoke and it was! It was the divine plan of God that causes everything we see around us to blossom and bloom. It is His love that keeps the sun shining for people He breathed life into. The man in all his intricate parts and systems became a living soul. He created these things so we can stop looking at all the ups and downs of life and just take a moment to realize that He did this for us. He created everything, inclusively and exclusively for His people. How can we not say thank you and honor God by our commitment and servitude to Him? Take a look at His creation and give thanks!

Janet Boynes founded Janet Boynes Ministries in Maple Grove, Minnesota, in 2006. She authored the books Called Out: A Former Lesbian’s Discovery of Freedom, God & Sexuality, and her latest: God & The LGBT Community. Janet is an ordained minister under the Assemblies of God and travels the U.S. and overseas sharing a message of redemption and hope through the power of Jesus Christ.