Thundering Niagara Falls and the single light-catching dewdrop on a rose petal. The brightness of the noonday sun contrasted with the quiet glow of a full moon at midnight. The first cry of a newborn kitten and the great roar of a lion. The texture of a feather and the skin of an alligator. The speed of a gazelle leaping over the very rock under which a hidden slug makes its labored journey. A stalactite reaching down and a stalagmite rising up. God made them all and in all there is purpose.

What purpose? What can we gather from all these contrasts? Shall we simply pause with wide-eyed wonder at God’s ability to amaze us? Shall we just clap for joy or shout praise at the Lord’s creative range? No doubt, we relish a God of infinite variety but appreciation alone is not enough. Admiration for someone’s ability is commendable but it is not worship. Wonder is not worship. All creation is saying something about God. It says, “There is a God” (God is!) but it speaks much more; it says, God is and is big enough to be trusted -- seek Him for He is the Creator and Sum of all, (He rewards those who diligently seek Him!) Everything God made is not designed in itself to satisfy us. It only points us back to God, stirs our thirst for the Source and elicits our praise and our trust. In other words, if God flung the stars in space, and made the delicate wing of the hummingbird, He can probably be trusted to cover your light bill. Why do we leave this real and living God out of our real lives? You see, God isn’t out to “wow” you; He is out to “win” you. Win your trust.

At no time has God ever said to any of these creatures, “You are my son” or “you are my daughter”. But to you, as a believer, He claims a special kinship. Creation brings us to long for a relationship with the God of Glory. At no time is the creation of God designed to become the Glory of our worship.

In Psalm 18, David has been surrounded with enemies and has been astounded and delivered by the power of God. Note phrases like: “The earth shook and trembled” (v7), “He flew upon the wings of the wind” (v10), “The Lord thundered in the heavens” (v13), “He shot out lightning’s, and sent out arrows” (v14). All these descriptors conjure up the image of great divine and destructive natural forces conjoined in their strength against the enemies of David. He would go on to say in verses 15-35,

“He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters,

he delivered me from my strong enemies, He brought me into a large place;

He delivered me, because He delighted in me. . .

Thou wilt light my candle. . . His way is perfect . . Thy gentleness hath made me great”

What a God of contrasts! He, on one hand, can hurl darts of lightning at the foe, and on the other hand, light our little candles of hope.

Dear friend, you among all His created works, are most dear, “For in the person of His dear Son you are as dear to His heart as He”. He takes delight in you. The same God who can stir the sea and dispatch His furious lightning bolts against the enemy can surround you, calm the raging sea in your soul, and gently light your “candle”.

Trust this God of contrasts to work wonders on your behalf today.