Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."¹

When explorers from England first went to Australia they discovered some strange and wonderful animals not seen anywhere else in the worldâ€"animals such as the kangaroo, the koala (which isn't a bear as it is often called), and the ornithorhynchusâ€"a mammal that laid eggs, spent some time in water and some on land, had a broad, flat tail, webbed feet, and a bill similar to a duck (now known as the platypus).

When the explorers returned home, nobody would believe their story about the platypus. All felt it was a hoax. Even after they returned to Australia and brought back a pelt from this strange animal, people still felt it was a hoax and refused to believe it was real.²

Many people say, "I believe only what I see for myself." That's not necessarily true either because, by and large, people see and believe only what they want to see and believeâ€"and refuse to see and believe all elseâ€"regardless of the evidence.

However, what I see and believe has absolutely no effect on what is. What is, isâ€"whether I see and believe it or not. For instance, I've never seen an atom but I've seen (at least in pictures) the evidence of its incredible power and believe it is real. I live close to a nuclear power plant and can't see the electric power it is generating, but its electricity is probably powering my computer on which I am typing this article right now. I can't see the electricity but whether I believe it is real or not doesn't affect its reality. It just is.

I've never seen God either but I see evidence of his presence and mighty power everywhere I lookâ€"I see and believe because I want and choose to believe. With God, as with many things in life, believing is seeing. Indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God. Believe it and you will see.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, open my eyes and help me to see the marvels of your creation, the majesty of your presence, the magnificence of your power and, above all, help me to see all the riches in Jesus Christ you have for meâ€"including the gift of forgiveness and eternal life to live with you forever in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).
2. http://www.esermons.com/.

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