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Close to God in nature

F

frankm

Member
I'm a country boy (although I'm not a boy any more :) ) by nature and inclination. I walk the fields and forests and lot of times feel closer to God. Does any one else feel that way?

Now, I dont mean to say thats the only time I feel close to God but I feel differently out in His creation. Im sort of free of all the things man has made and completely in His glorious handiwork. I see the grass, trees, rocks, and water and I reflect on His perfection and the evidence of His greatness. I hear the calls of his birds and animals and see for my own eyes the sky and the sun and clouds and know how beautiful He has made everything and how imperfect we are.

My spirit seems to soar upward toward Him more readily than any other place. Prayers of thanksgiving flow from my heart.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the path of righteousness
for His name's sake.

Psalm 23:1-3 NIV

I love the green pastures and still waters and I know hes leading me. In His great creation and during quiet walks with Him, I find peace even in the darkest times. Does any one else feel these things?
 
I am a big hiker, I'll do 5 miles on an 'off' day and as many as 11 on a good day, but usually 7 to 9 miles is about right.

I love it in the woods, do a lot of thinking, praying, and (hopefully) listening to Him.


Actually, with the events of the past few months, I have not been hiking in..... wow, it's been since the weekend before THanksgiving. :o

No wonder I've been restless of spirit and feeling far from Him. THAT DOES IT, I'm headed out tomorrow to the park, after church. (This works out well, our high is 67, now today's high was 65 and we hit 74!!!)
 
You guys are men after my own heart. There's something about a quiet walk that brings me closer to God and reminds me of all the things I can see, hear and touch. I remember that God gave these senses to me to experience this joy.
 
old_tractor said:
You guys are men after my own heart. There's something about a quiet walk that brings me closer to God and reminds me of all the things I can see, hear and touch. I remember that God gave these senses to me to experience this joy.
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One of the most truthful & most humbleing Truths in the Masters Word should be Rom. 2:14-15, where the Gentile's had found Christ & will have Eternal Life, and did not even known Him as we do. But had surrendered their will to Him by accepting Him from His nature! Even to the point of having His law written in their hearts! Born Again! Acts 5:32

This should even help us see where the vast over seas disasters of the loss of life ones, have NOT been left to professed Christians alone! The Holy Spirit has been there STRIVING just as well as with the pre/flood ones, AND... The Noah's faithful preacher was who?? Surely it was The Lord's [NATURE]!

And 'US'? Being 'responsible mature' Christians?? we should find that God is not DEPENDANT on us. His Loving work is A VERY LOVING [[PRIVILEGE]]. See 1 Cor. 3:4-9.
But WOW!! it seems that most think that God is DEPENTANT of [[THEM!]] And if any of these ones from Rom. 2 above should venture on this Christian boards, they just might not stick around long with of the I,I,I,I,I Isa. 14:12-14 postings, huh!???
It is kind of mild still in USA, but as the 'last' days go on we, will even find Matt. 10 being repeated in full swing!;) ibide. 24-27

And these Gentile ones had no doubt learned of this truth from the birds & animales in nature fighting by instinct, and the 'care' of their young? And FOR SURE the Holy Spirit was there STRIVING with all of these ones too, huh! Gen. 6:3

And 'i' can just hear (rhetorical) one hawk 'bird' calling the 'dove bird' of Matt. 10:20-28's the 25's verse of beezelbub, huh?;) (and the hawk & dove bird found one an un/clean bird & the other a clean bird!:yes)

--Elijah
 
frankm said:
I'm a country boy (although I'm not a boy any more :) ) by nature and inclination. I walk the fields and forests and lot of times feel closer to God. Does any one else feel that way?

Now, I dont mean to say thats the only time I feel close to God but I feel differently out in His creation. Im sort of free of all the things man has made and completely in His glorious handiwork. I see the grass, trees, rocks, and water and I reflect on His perfection and the evidence of His greatness. I hear the calls of his birds and animals and see for my own eyes the sky and the sun and clouds and know how beautiful He has made everything and how imperfect we are.

My spirit seems to soar upward toward Him more readily than any other place. Prayers of thanksgiving flow from my heart.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the path of righteousness
for His name's sake.

Psalm 23:1-3 NIV

I love the green pastures and still waters and I know hes leading me. In His great creation and during quiet walks with Him, I find peace even in the darkest times. Does any one else feel these things?
Click to expand...

DEFINATELY! I feel the closet to God when I am out in nature. There is something in nature that allows one of just be quiet within and listen to God. Any other place, there tends to be too many distractions. But nature does not distract. Even the distractions like a bird flying down in front of me, does not distract. Instead it only gets me to thinking of the wonders of God like how His eye is on the sparrow and how He feeds the little birds. Nature is calming and soothing to the spirit.
 
I absolutely agree. The best place to commune with God is in His own creation. If you have a choice about what kind of nature, I suggest near large waterfalls or erupting volcanoes.
 
hmm.

after i stop whining from being forced into the elements by the army. takes a few days to get adjusted to the extremes at times for me.

i then see what beauty there is.

ironically, in war(afghanistan) had the most awe inspiring scenery and the lighting there was awesome(cloud to cloud) was the most often.
 
PouringRain said:
I enjoy spending time with God in my garden.
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I agree. A garden is very pleasant and enjoyable. However, it is different than walking in nature because one is happily watching day by day the miracle of growth or lamenting when bugs, birds or other pests come in a destroy all the work one has put into this wonderful growth. But a walk in nature, one is just soaking it all in without doing anything to produce growth or realizing the acorn that fell and started to grow did not make it. A garden is seeing the details while a walk in nature is seeing the big picture. Both are nice and enriching though.
 
pjt said:
I agree. A garden is very pleasant and enjoyable. However, it is different than walking in nature because one is happily watching day by day the miracle of growth or lamenting when bugs, birds or other pests come in a destroy all the work one has put into this wonderful growth. But a walk in nature, one is just soaking it all in without doing anything to produce growth or realizing the acorn that fell and started to grow did not make it. A garden is seeing the details while a walk in nature is seeing the big picture. Both are nice and enriching though.
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I disagree with that part. :yes For me, time spent in my garden with God is very different than than what you describe.
 
pjt said:
That`s my experience. What`s yours?
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Mine is more like what you describe while walking through "nature". I thank God even for the thorns in my fingers. I never worry about bugs or if things do not grow. A great many things never make it. Some that do are killed by frost, or heat, or lack of water. There is no point lamenting over the little things or the losses. It is just a part of life. Being in the garden isn't about what grows and what doesn't. It's about much more. It is a time just to spend in devotion with God and in quiet contemplation. The seasons turn, and the weather changes.

.... and the bugs..... so cool! We have ground termites that make little dirt straws over all the dead things. And there are these tiny, tiny, TINY little things that hop on you and bite you. They are so TINY, you wouldn't even know they were on you except when you feel them. And all sorts of strange looking things. Something that looks like a cross between a house fly and a dragon fly. And every beetle and grasshopper that probably ever existed.
 
PouringRain said:
Mine is more like what you describe while walking through "nature". I thank God even for the thorns in my fingers. I never worry about bugs or if things do not grow. A great many things never make it. Some that do are killed by frost, or heat, or lack of water. There is no point lamenting over the little things or the losses. It is just a part of life. Being in the garden isn't about what grows and what doesn't. It's about much more. It is a time just to spend in devotion with God and in quiet contemplation. The seasons turn, and the weather changes.

.... and the bugs..... so cool! We have ground termites that make little dirt straws over all the dead things. And there are these tiny, tiny, TINY little things that hop on you and bite you. They are so TINY, you wouldn't even know they were on you except when you feel them. And all sorts of strange looking things. Something that looks like a cross between a house fly and a dragon fly. And every beetle and grasshopper that probably ever existed.
Click to expand...

I guess the difference in our experiences is in a garden I see myself as the caretaker where I carefully plant, nuture, and take care of each little seed. Then I get the pleasure of watching it peep out its little head and carefully watching over it while telling the children not to step on them. I guard the little plants and protect them as well as weed, water, post and tie, fertilize, check for bugs, cover them in undue weather strikes, etc. So if they get a disease or a bug attacks or an early frost sets in, and they are harmed, I feel the loss and also recognize all the labor that was put in without any fruit to show for it. I don`t see it as a waste though because I enjoyed the experience but it does feel like a labor and loss to me.

On the other other hand, I see God as the caretaker in nature where I can simply enjoy without feeling labor or loss. I imagine this is how you feel about your garden?
 
pjt said:
On the other other hand, I see God as the caretaker in nature where I can simply enjoy without feeling labor or loss. I imagine this is how you feel about your garden?
Click to expand...

Yes, our garden experiences are very different. I may plow, plant, weed, etc. but if nothing comes of it then I am not bothered. The fruits of my labor are not usually seen by what grows.

Overall, God is the one in control over what grows and what doesn't. Usually he likes to surprise me in ways I never expect. Last year he gave me a beautiful wild plant that I still have not identified. It has flowers like an orchid, but it is very different than one. I transplanted it to a flower bed and it flourished. I hope it comes back this next year, but if not, then I am glad for the time I had it this past year. I also discovered a lantana growing in an odd place this past fall. I still need to transplant that one. One year, when I dug up in the front to plant flower beds, that same year I had dozens upon dozens of four o'clocks pop up everywhere I had dug. They grew huge and were gorgeous when they were all in bloom. God gives me tons of beautiful flowers that I never even plant. He likes to surprise me. All sorts of things that I never plant pop up at odd times. Even in my vegetable garden.

Absolutely nothing is really in my control. :lol
 
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