Heavenly Father,
You who sit enthroned above the circle of the earth, who wakens the heavens like a new day’s dawn (Isaiah 40:22), we bow before You in wonder.
What must You think of us? We, who were made in Your image, still choose sin over sanctity, control over surrender, our own voice over Your gentle calling. Yet You are patient, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). You call us gently, warning us of evil, wooing us with grace.
And still Your glory fills the earth. We see You in the blue sky that proclaims Your handiwork (Psalm 19:1), in the rushing waves that know their bounds (Jeremiah 5:22), in the joy of a mother as her child lets out their first cry.
Your love, in a child who shares their food with another who doesn’t have any, living out love that does not seek its own glory (1 Corinthians 13:5). You are there in the mailman who takes extra time to bring the widow’s mail to her front door, the gospel in motion, quiet and unseen (Matthew 6:4). You are in the dolphin who leads the lost swimmer to shore, just as You led Israel through the sea by Your mighty hand (Psalm 77:19–20). You love us through the loyal dog who will not leave its owner’s side, a whisper of the steadfast love that never lets go (Psalm 136:1).
We see You in the church body that becomes Your hands and feet taking care of widows and orphans, in the lost of our world that believes they are too far gone to be helped. When we come together and rejoice as one over all the things we see Your mighty hand in (1 Corinthians 12:26–27).
In the mother whose knees are worn from prayer, groaning for her children’s return to You (Romans 8:26). In the little child who fearlessly sings “This Little Light of Mine” before a watching world, shaming the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27). In the pastor who pours out his life, bearing the weight of souls with tears and truth (2 Corinthians 12:15), trying to help lost sinners come together in unity and not selfish ambition.
You shine through the teacher who puts themselves in front of their pupils when the gunfire rings out. In the soldier who rises each day with freedom as their cause, echoes of the One who came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). You are with the doctor who skips sleep to save a life, a vessel of Your healing hand (Jeremiah 30:17).
You are in the singing bird that breaks the silence with praise, in the whispering trees that send a much-needed breeze (Isaiah 55:12), in the farmer who wakes early and trusts the rain You give (James 5:7), in the artist who paints beauty to reflect Your splendor, and the teacher who stays late to see one child succeed.
O Lord, open our eyes. Let us behold wondrous things out of Your law (Psalm 119:18), but also in Your world, where Your fingerprints remain in each loving, grace-filled word. Give us hearts of flesh, not stone (Ezekiel 36:26), so we may feel what You feel, love whom You love, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
Let the earth be filled with the knowledge of Your glory as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). And let us be part of that beauty not as passive spectators, but as faithful stewards of every good and perfect gift from above (James 1:17).
In the name of Jesus our Redeemer, Rock, gentle Shepherd and righteous King,
Amen.