December 27th
Read: Job 39:1-17
The change of seasons in Central New York State is a wonderful parade of climatic changes and a wonderful succession of very different evidences of God’s creative hand. Winter is the hardest of the seasons, causing all life forms to find ways to keep warm enough to sustain life through cold days and frigid nights.
Man seeks the warmth of hot meals, warm clothing and hearth fires. Much of the budget is spent for fuel. Animals find other ways to cope. Fur comes in thicker on many, bears hibernate, and some birds migrate to warmer areas in search of the food which they need.
Others depend on seeds remaining on trees and the provision found in bird feeders.
In each case the provision for their needs and the instruction for their ways comes from God, the Creator, the Provider. Animals heed God’s ways for them. Why is it that man so often does not?
WINTER (From Four Who Come)
When Winter blusters on the scene
To swirl his icy cape
And fill the fields with snow pristine,
Not one thing will escape
His wintry breath and cold embrace,
Not beast nor brook nor tree;
They’re held in bonds of hoar-frost lace
And stark frigidity.
Then, as if to emphasize
His power for man’s awe,
He slacks his grip, to Earth’s surprise,
And yields to a sudden thaw,
Only to flex his hands again
And renew his icy clutch
Upon the hills and the rocky glen
Which shudder at his touch.
Prayer: Dear God, help me to see Your ways for me. Instruct me in all things as Your creatures receive instruction.