I see the Earth suspended in space,
The Spirit of God moves upon its face.
And then God speaks, "Let there be light,"
His voice divided the darkness of night, 
To reveal the splendor of His countenance bright;
And the glowing magnificence was good in His sight,
But when did He first love me?
The waters above became clouds in the sky;
Waters below became oceans wide.
And the land that was dry was set by the ocean's side,
Creating a tide for the very first time.
The thunderous waves, immeasurable heights,
And peaks of the mountains were good in His eyes,
But when did He first love me?
Out of the ground sprung grass and trees,
Flowers, and fruit bearing seeds.
The sun would rejoice with illuminating heat,
His presence would retreat and the dark sky greet
The moon and the stars, and this would repeat
To make seasons, and days, and years complete.
And God was pleased with all He could see,
But when did He first love me?
The lonely seas were blessed abundantly
With vibrant life to keep them company.
The skies received a beautiful symphony
Of birds harmonizing brilliantly,
And both joined willingly in the ministry
Of praise to the God of infinity 
Who loved them unconditionally, in spite of their futility,
But when did he first love me?
Then on day six He made the mammals,
But they were souless animals;
Valuable, yet relationally incompatible.
And so God decided that He'd make a man, 
It was all according to His ultimate plan,
That was decided before time began,
But when did He first love me?
And now imagine with His almighty hand,
He scoops up the dust from a parcel of land; 
He blows the dust, and then He commands
That the dust take the form of a lifeless man.
As He gazes into the man's deep, empty eyes,
His foreknowledge trasports Him through the portals of time
To the place where this man would disobey 
God's only rule -
Leading to an offspring of fools.
They think they're wise;
Their hearts darkened by vanity and lies,
God's glory they would falsify,
And modify, to justify their sinful lives.
He saw the day that His only son would be crucified,
And then arise to give new life;
And even so, they'd still deny
The God that made them to be the apple of His eye.
And with that knowledge of all time and space,
Face to face with the man that would allow sin to enter into the human race,
God breathed in, His love unfazed,
And breathed the breath of life into the man anyways.
And that's when He first loved me.

The moment of wonder- when earth stood still and heaven became real, for the first time in forever.
And walking with God in the cool of the day was no longer words on a page- it was life.
Deep called to deep and made the ocean look shallow- a puddle of water after the storm.
Time's tables turned backwards and less looked like more.
Death became birth, killing became healing, demolition became building and numbness became feeling.
Weeping turned to laughter, sorrow to dancing- nothing was wrong.
Then with no warning it seemed like he'd left,
My lungs were left void of breath and the moment of wonder turned to obscurity- I must have been unworthy.
So I searched the whole earth to find heaven again,
During my journey I lost heaven within.
I looked at others and saw dead, pale corpses, stagnant and utterly worthless.
Comparison became judgement (that subtle snare of pride).
Rationale was reality, logic replaced love and fatih faded to only a fleeting fantasy- out of reach.
And here you have a hopeless scene.
The moment of wonder will wander away if you choose to wander when you're supposed to wait.
Go back to the place where it seemed like he'd left- and when you get there, rest.
He'll return with great glory, a blessed reunion,
The wonder of heaven restored within Jesus' communion.

You know what Luther said the little bird said to him? He sat upon a twig of the tree, and he sang-

Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow; 
God provides for the morrow.

And it chirped and picked up its little grain, and sang again. And yet it had no granary; it did not have a handful of wheat stored up anywhere; but it still kept on with its chirping-

Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow; 
God provides for the morrow.

    While kneeling in front of the couch that's located just under the only window in our <400 square foot apartment the other day, I heard a familiar sound. The sound that I heard was the chirping of birds outside of the window. It's possible that they were picking at the blueberry bushes, or snatching sticks out of the gutters to build a nest, or maybe they were just singing because they realized how blessed they are to be unbound by culture and forms. For a moment I envied the chirping birds.

    I've heard the birds chirp outside of the window many times before- in fact, it's usually the first sound that I notice every morning that I wake up. This time, however, was different than other times. I heard the birds chirping and found myself greatly convicted, and feeling a bit condemned by the reproof of their harmless song. 

    The birds outside of my window did not have a care in the world. They weren't worried about where their next meal would come from, or how they would accomplish the tasks of the day that would be set before them; they weren't complaining (the solemnity and harmony of their voices confirmed that), and they weren't striving for anymore than the purpose for which they were created. They were joining in with the rest of creation, harmonizing with all of nature, declaring the glory of the Lord with unbridled, unquestioned obedience to the Creator of the ends of the earth.

    Sometimes I find myself caring too much about things that aren't worth the time to care about. It behooves me (and would you also) to consider the sparrow, the lilies, and the birds of the air that gather into barns. The birds (along with the rest of creation) do not worry, they simply give thanks and trust God. I'm reminded of the Scripture in Philippians 4:6-7: Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep our hearts, and minds through Christ Jesus. Godliness with contentment is great gain and we're of more value than many sparrows. 

    We have to come to the place that we truly believe that our God is “I AM.” He has “Thrown into space racing planets, whirling worlds and luminous suns; he has created a world with its wonders of animalisms, beauty of flowers, majesty of rippling rills, glassy seas and lofty mountains; he has placed the twinkle in the stars, the sparkle in the planets, and the blaze in the sun. He has stretched out the heavens like a scroll, scooped out the valleys, and piled up the mountains; he's carpeted the earth with verdant green, laced it with running brooks and flowing rivers, he's set the furnace of the sun on fire, called the queen of night into her orbit, and set the stars dancing in the heavens.” (Behold the Man, Francis Lincecome) Our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills!

Psalm 19:1-6 (KJV)

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

    To make a long story short: trust the Lord, believe that he is, and don't worry about it. Somewhere in his comprehension of eternity your situation is taken care of. Commit your way to him, trust in him, and he will bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5). And above all, take a lesson from the birds chirping outside of your window- praise God, give him thanks, acknowledge him above all else in your life- while taking no thought for tomorrow. Our heavenly Father knows what we have need of and the greatest thought on this side of eternity in regards to prayer is not that God answers prayer; but rather, that God is our Father. Within the capsule of time that we live in, we don't have any time to waste worrying about temporal matters- not when eternal decisions are made in time.