August 8, 2024

August 8:  Delight and Goodwill.

Enjoyment of Nature.
The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.--Psalm 111:2, NKJV

ALTHOUGH SIN HAS cast its shadow over the earth, God desires His children to find delight in the works of His hands.--The Ministry of Healing, 261.

Men, in their pride, delight in magnificent and costly edifices and glory in the works of their own hands; but God placed Adam in a garden.  This was his dwelling.  The blue heavens were its dome; the earth, with its delicate flowers and carpet of living green, was its floor; and the leafy branches of the goodly trees were its canopy.  Its walls were hung with the most magnificent adorning--the handiwork of the great Master Artist.  In the surroundings of the holy pair was a lesson for all time--that true happiness is found, not in the indulgence of pride and luxury, but in communion with God through His created works.  If men would give less attention to the artificial, and would cultivate greater simplicity, they would come far nearer to answering the purpose of God in their creation.  Pride and ambition are never satisfied, but those who are truly wise will find substantial and elevating pleasure in the sources of enjoyment that God has placed within the reach of all.--Patriarchs and Prophets, 49.

                                              "You alone are the Lord;
                                                You have made heaven,
                                      The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
                                               The earth and everything on it,
                                              The seas and all that is in them,
                                                     And You preserve them all.
                                               The host of heaven worships You."
                                                                                       --Nehemiah 9:6, NKJV