What Can God’s Creation Teach You?

Posted on Jan 28, 2020 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Christi Grace

Life is a classroom. It’s full of lessons and opportunities to learn and grow into our purpose and ultimately, who God intends for us to be. If you’re like me, you have probably looked back on the difficult lessons and thanked God for allowing them because it brought you closer to Him and changed you in a supernatural way. What I have realized is many times God uses the things we relate to most to teach us these lessons.

I’m always amazed at how well God knows me. That may sound like a silly statement, but I think we can sometimes forget that. Remember the prophet Jonah? It’s almost comical how Jonah ran from the Lord. Did Jonah really believe God didn’t know every step he was about to take on his journey in the opposite direction God had instructed him to go? And, God knew what it was going to take to get Jonah back on track…sitting inside the belly of a whale for three days (Jonah 1:17, Matthew 12:40). God knows each of us in the same way. He knows exactly how to relate to us, and he intricately fashions the circumstances in our lives to fit together perfectly to get His point across.

I think I relate with Jonah on some levels. Not that I blatantly run from God, but that God uses animals to teach me. As much as I love whales and admire their amazing beauty, I wouldn’t want to live inside one for even one day, let alone three! I think if I were to be swallowed by a whale, God would certainly have my attention! Ultimately, God’s purpose was fulfilled in Jonah’s life, and it can be in ours too if we look for God’s teaching in all the intricate details of our lives.

Maybe, like Jonah, you have felt out of step in your walk with the Lord. Maybe you have felt God wasn’t answering your prayers in the way you wanted. I certainly have felt that way. But I have learned to look for God’s voice in the places that I relate to the most. For me, that has been in my experiences with animals. As a professional pet sitter for twelve years, I had the opportunity to do what I love most---spend every day in the company of animals. Through each encounter God spoke to me in some way:

He taught me to never give up through a goat named Ginger that just couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble.
He taught me forgiveness through an unforgiving dog named Toto.
He taught me trust through an abused horse named Shiloh.
He taught me about never straying from His will through a raucous rooster named Rocko.

It’s in those encounters that I learned so much about myself, but even more about my God. The same amazing God Who created me for His purposes, also created animals for His purposes.

Chances are, we won’t spend any time in a whale’s belly, but God still uses His animal creation to teach us; I’m proof of that!