Have you ever taken a walk through nature and marveled at God's wonderful creation? Growing up in Germany I have had the opportunity to see some of God’s works that have left me breathless. But I never thought much about the spiritual truths that can be learned in nature. Even when our Bibles are closed God is not silent.

Every human has a soul that will never die and it therefore needs care. God has chosen to use some of the lowly animals on earth to help us. Isn’t it amazing that we can learn God’s truths from the smallest creatures? As it says in Proverbs,

“Four things on earth are small; yet they are extremely wise:
Proverbs 30:24

The Ant

Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
Proverbs 30:25

Every single year we get these tiny little ants that infest our kitchen for a few weeks and then disappear a quickly as they came. It is SO annoying! But God is telling me that there is wisdom to be found when studying these tiny little creatures.

Ants spend the entire summer collecting food to store in their homes. And when the winter comes these little creatures are tucked away in their cozy ant hills and have plenty of food to get them through the cold and barren days.

How should this benefit my soul? Time is precious because we don’t know how much of it we have and like the ants we need to make sure we make the most of the days that God has ordained. Our winter will come sooner than we think and it will hold its fair share of wind and storms. Are our souls ready? Is my soul prepared to encounter difficulty, trials, sadness and death?

The Rock Badger

The rock badgers  are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the rocks;
Proverbs 30:26

These little creatures are kind of cute. They remind me of guinea pigs. But these little guys are not strong and therefore need protection from those that hunt them. So they make their holes in the crags of rocks. There they cannot be followed or dug out and  are safe.

I need a safe place for my soul. There is a lot in this world that can hurt me: the devil, the world and even my own heart. So where can I go to find safety for my soul? Christ is my rock, my hiding place!

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

The Locust

The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
Proverbs 30:27

One locust does not seem very formidable, but a swarm of them can bring devastation. They can strip trees of all their leaves and ruin hundreds of acres of crops in a shockingly short period of time. God called them his “great army” (Joel 2:25) and sent them to Egypt to devastate the land.

If we know the state of our souls then we will know that, like one locust on its own, we are weak. This sense of weakness should encourage us to keep together, that we may strengthen one another and stand, without fear, against attacks of the devil, hold firm when the world mocks, and find God in the midst of his people during the long dark days.

The Spider

The spider  skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.
Proverbs 30:28

Spiders are nasty, with their long hairy legs and their creepy beady eyes. But these little guys will spin their webs in the dirtiest homes as well as the fanciest castles. And when its web is knocked down it will spin it again. A spider works hard and does not give up. They are persistent little creatures and that is what we can learn from them. We must persevere! We must continue to do good even when it seems futile. We must continue studying our Bibles even change seems slow. We must continue loving those around us even when we are not loved back.

There is much to see in nature, but as beautiful as it is, without the word of God I would miss it all. I love both God’s revelation in nature and his revelation in Scripture. But without the latter, the former remains locked up.