Patterns of Promise
Maybe Einstein said it best:
The basic laws of the universe are simple, but because our senses are limited, we can’t grasp them. There is a pattern in creation.
But then again Paul said the same thing in Romans:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20
And Isaiah in his book:
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. Isaiah 40:26
And didn’t God Himself promise Creation’s patterns to Noah?
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22
See the opposing force of the tiny plant pushing against the dirt. It all happens out of sight according to God’s Creation. “And he said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how'” (Mark 4:26-27).
In fact, by wisdom God created the earth:
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; 20 by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew. 21 My son, do not lose sight of these – keep sound wisdom and discretion, 22 and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Proverbs 3:19-22
There is literally nothing we can look at in Creation that is not filled with wisdom.
God’s Spectacular Creation
Have you ever observed God’s spectacular Creation and nothing else?
Looking at an ocean or large mountains certainly prompts a spirit of worship. But what about smaller things? A ladybug crawling. A cat watching a squirrel. Birds of any kind. Buds of any flower. The movement of leaves in the wind.
The wisdom book of Ecclesiastes says:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11
When I get all bent out of shape about my job, and I often do, one of the best remedies for relieving the discouragement is to think about God’s Creation. To look for, and/or take out a journal and list, the many wonders of God’s Creation.
The patterns of promise—changing seasons, opposing forces, filling and emptying—are everywhere.
Creation’s beginning contains each of these patterns:
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:2-3
As do the Gospels:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,1 and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5
And the consummation of all time:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place1 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,2 and God himself will be with them as their God.3 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:1-5
Not only does this put my job hatred in the proper perspective but it also teaches a profound lesson. I am God’s Creation too. As beginnings and endings, changing seasons, filling and emptying apply to the rest of Creation, so they apply to me.
How does a mother giraffe “know” to love and nurture her child? How does the young giraffe know to trust his/her mother? Is this not the natural instinct placed in all animals when God created them?
One day, yes, one day, God will end my time in the pit and begin my time out of the pit—according to His due time. And it will be a glorious day in God’s Creation.
This faith and hope is made possible by God’s Word and the patterns of promise taking place all around me every minute 24/7.
Hymn Of Promise Perfectly Describes The Patterns Of Promise
No other song describes the Patterns of Promise better than the Hymn of Promise by Natalie Sheeth. When you need encouragement and hope for your own situation, read, or sing, these words. They are certainly soothing to the soul.
In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
Prayer:
Father God, Thank You for Your gorgeous Creation. Help me to see You in every aspect of it. Because certainly if I look with faith, I will see the patterns of promise. And to Your children You will keep Your promises. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
One of many patterns that exist in Creation is exhibited in a giraffe’s spots and dried, cracked mud. See the similar pattern? That the patterns of shrinking and pulling apart, of the spots and mud, are related is substantiated by mathematics. Creation is replete with mathematics. Perhaps that is why Einstein could recognize them so easily.