Devotional: Stop, and smell the roses
Written by Craig Dirkes, Salvation Army Northern Division writer/photographer
As summer draws to a close (sniff, sniff) and a busy new school year begins, remember to take advantage of the season’s grandeur before it’s gone. Make time to go swimming or canoeing. Take a walk in the woods. Look at colorful birds through binoculars. Smell some roses.
Whichever outdoor activities you choose, remember to take a moment and thank God for His perfect creation. Look around you and take comfort knowing that God’s existence is proven in the warm sunshine, blue skies, and tall trees.
“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” (Romans 1:20).
In addition to looking at God’s creation, listen to it as well. Hear the breeze blowing, the birds chirping, and the water flowing.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).
Read a Bible outside
Sit under a tree and open your Bible to the book of Psalm, which includes many verses related to nature. “That person is like a tree planted by water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3).
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