7 day plan

Caring for Creation

Day 3 of 7

NIV

Psalms 104:30

30When you send your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

Reflection: God is in the business of renewing the earth

One day my morning devotions included reading Psalm 104:30. It struck me that this was significant, but distracted by the busy schedule ahead of me I did not reflect on it deeply. I loaded the ute with tree seedlings to take to a village, knowing full well that most of them would die. I had tried so many things – new species, new methods, different timing of planting – nothing worked in a sustainable, economically viable way. I was very discouraged.

On the way to the village, I stopped near an expanse of totally denuded and compacted ground. Getting out of the vehicle, I was despairing that this land would ever be restored. How many million dollars, how many years, how many staff would it take to repair? It seemed hopeless.

Then, as I was about to get back into the vehicle, I noticed a small seedling germinating through a crack in that hard earth and I recalled the morning’s Bible reading:  When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.”

God is not only in the business of saving lost souls and healing broken lives. He is in the business of healing and renewing his broken creation. When we restore creation, we are doing what is pleasing to God and when we call on him, he is there to encourage us, to help us, and to give inspiration on the way forward.

Prayer:

Thank you, Lord, that you care about and uphold your creation (Hebrews 1:3; Col 1:17) to this day. May we seek your guidance, wisdom and insight as to what practical steps we can take to care for and restore your creation.

Days

Psalms 104:1-35

Psalm 104

1Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;

you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;

he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

He makes the clouds his chariot

and rides on the wings of the wind.

4He makes winds his messengers,

flames of fire his servants.

5He set the earth on its foundations;

it can never be moved.

6You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

7But at your rebuke the waters fled,

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8they flowed over the mountains,

they went down into the valleys,

to the place you assigned for them.

9You set a boundary they cannot cross;

never again will they cover the earth.

10He makes springs pour water into the ravines;

it flows between the mountains.

11They give water to all the beasts of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12The birds of the sky nest by the waters;

they sing among the branches.

13He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;

the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

14He makes grass grow for the cattle,

and plants for people to cultivate—

bringing forth food from the earth:

15wine that gladdens human hearts,

oil to make their faces shine,

and bread that sustains their hearts.

16The trees of the Lord are well watered,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17There the birds make their nests;

the stork has its home in the junipers.

18The high mountains belong to the wild goats;

the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

19He made the moon to mark the seasons,

and the sun knows when to go down.

20You bring darkness, it becomes night,

and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21The lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

22The sun rises, and they steal away;

they return and lie down in their dens.

23Then people go out to their work,

to their labor until evening.

24How many are your works, Lord!

In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25There is the sea, vast and spacious,

teeming with creatures beyond number—

living things both large and small.

26There the ships go to and fro,

and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27All creatures look to you

to give them their food at the proper time.

28When you give it to them,

they gather it up;

when you open your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

29When you hide your face,

they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return to the dust.

30When you send your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

31May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works—

32he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,

who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33I will sing to the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

34May my meditation be pleasing to him,

as I rejoice in the Lord.

35But may sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.