Connecting During DeploymentExemplo

It All Begins with the Creator

In the burning sands of Afghanistan, a soldier opened his care package from home. In it was another calendar—this time with pictures of beautiful flowers framed against a background of majestic snow-capped mountains. His wife told me it didn’t matter what the year was—the calendars she sent were ones she found with beautiful pictures of nature, and sometimes with Scripture in the margins. God’s created beauty ministered to her husband’s weary heart in a way he couldn’t describe, but was very real. God’s presence revealed in creation comforted his war-torn soul.

It all begins with creation . . . which begins with the Creator. Do you find yourself feeling empty today—with doubts, frustrations, and concerns bearing down on you? Consider reading these verses of adoration and beauty to set your heart on the One who loves you enough to give us this beautiful world—and to send His Son, Jesus Christ, into it . . . just for you. 

As John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

1. Read the following verses:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Revelation 4:11). 

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Which of the verses above encourage you in a particular situation you are facing?

2. Tell your spouse about a time when a scene of beauty encouraged your heart. It can be as vast as the expanse of the Grand Canyon, or as simple as the smile of a child presenting a bouquet of dandelions.

For more about the power of the tongue to encourage each other in marriage, read “Speaking the Truth in Love.”