Bible Boot Camp: God Reveals Himself In Nature

This is Lesson 6 of my series “Bible Boot Camp.” If you haven’t caught the rest of the series, you can catch up by clicking on the Bible Boot Camp link above this post.

One of our key responsibilities toward God is to be good stewards of the environment. God reveals Himself to us in nature! Unfortunately, however, the responsibility to care for the environment is often overlooked in Christian circles.

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Why do we tend to minimalize the importance of the environment? I believe the three key reasons are:

• There is such a large secular push toward worshipping nature (which is idolatry), so Christians want to avoid the perception that they are endorsing nature-worship.
• Sometimes people of any faith tend to automatically think whatever the other group advocates for, we must not advocate for.
• Sometimes we forget to put shoe leather on our faith, walking out what we believe in our everyday actions.

I want to address the fact that Christians want to avoid the perception that we are endorsing nature-worship. I also want to show you why we must change, and become outdoor enthusiasts and advocates for the environment.

First, Christians must come to realize that there is always an evil substitute for every good, holy thing.

• The unholy substitute for the presence of God is drug use.
• The unholy substitute for prophecy is witchcraft and the occult.
• The unholy substitute for marriage is fornication (s*x outside of marriage).
• The unholy substitute for enjoying the natural world is worshipping it.

Taking care of the environment is not unholy. Enjoying God’s created world is a good, holy thing, and one that we are called to as Christians.

God gave us His natural world as a gift. Man was created to have dominion over nature, [1] and God created nature to reveal Himself to mankind.

In the natural world, we can see so many facets of God.

• We can get rejuvenated in the great outdoors, because God is our Rest and Restorer.
• We sense His majesty in His mountains, because God is the Majestic, Holy King.
• We see His creativity in His animals, because He is our Creator.

Romans 1:20 tells us “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen….” God’s created world is His first Gospel sermon to men. Psalm 19:1 emphasizes this point: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.”

Since God has chosen to use His natural world as His first revelation of Himself to men, we have a holy obligation to respect the natural world. We must steward God’s creation to the best of our ability. Its very existence is a message from Him to us! [2]

So how do we apply this in practical life? Here are 4 ways:

• Recycle.
• Don’t litter. Leave the environment better than you found it.
• Get outdoors often and ask God to reveal Himself to you. Go for a walk. Photograph some wildflowers. Visit the mountains. Enjoy all the natural places that are accessible to you.
• Learn all you can about nature; we must also study nature in order to truly know God. Read books and magazines about stars, planets, animals, birds, etc. Look for God’s hands at work in all of them.

As you learn to understand God’s message about Himself revealed in nature, you will develop a new outlook on life. You will find yourself overflowing with thankfulness and praise toward God. You will learn to delight in God’s creation. Ultimately, you will trust God more, and sense His presence more, because of what you learn about His character through His handiwork. [3]