“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.  In the past, he let all nations go their own way.  Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 
Acts 14:15-17

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

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I have a distinct memory from childhood. Experts say we retain memories from the age of four. At night, during the summer, my mom let me go out in our backyard with my PJs on and look at the moon. I was a dreamy little kid, and I would look up, try to find the “woman up there,” and sing. It was my nightly ritual on good weather days. I am still that person, and God’s nature speaks to me, offering words of wisdom. 

Before you think of me as one weird little girl,  the Bible and theologians have something to say about this. It is a concept called “general revelation,” which involves discovering God in nature and the world we inhabit. Have you ever known someone who claims to easily see and feel God when hiking or gazing out at the crashing ocean waves?

My daughter, after experiencing a “dark night of her soul”, traveled west with girlfriends for a camping trip. I was up at our family cottage, grieving and praying for her. One morning, while I was doing chair time with God, a text came in on my flip phone from my traveling daughter: “Mom, we just came into view of the mountains—God just told me it’s all going to be all okay.” My heart soared as I thanked God for her heartfelt revelation, as the mountains came into her view.

In this beautiful text in Acts today, God assures us of the same thing: He has not left us without “testimony”(Acts 14:17). You may be asking, What is this testimony? 

God shows us His kindness by showering us with warm rain, which provides us with food and life-giving energy. We are then able to study His Word and worship Him fully with joy and thankfulness because we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He dwells within us. The Holy Spirit continually encourages us as we share God’s revelation with others. 

God assures us in Romans that He is alive and present in the world. Often I have wondered about people where the Gospel has never been shared. In this verse, it says, “People are without excuse” (Romans  1:20). This means all people in our world see and feel God’s divine power when: a new baby breathes their first breath, when a colorful crocus shows itself in the March snow, and we see a double rainbow in a rainy, but sunny sky.

After a strenuous mountain climb the other day, I choked back tears and whispered, “Only God. Only God could create such a valley scene as this!”

Next Steps

Have you ever witnessed God in nature? Reading Acts this summer has been revolutionary in my life. It is not too late to step into these readings. Last week, I spent time in the mountains visiting my sweet grandsons, and childhood prayers exploded in my mind. We need to share these verses from an early age, so that our children’s brains will store them for the long haul of life.

Also, here is a favorite hymn that speaks!