Be at Home in the World

“The Earth is full of God’s loving devotion.”

Psalm 33:5

Notes for Contemplation as You Use this Devotional:

• This passage comes from the Psalm often titled, “The Earth is Full of God’s Unfailing Love.” It describes specific aspects of God’s nature, especially noting that God’s loving presence encompasses the Earth and all people.
• The Psalmist explains that God’s love is unconditional, God’s reach is infinite, and God’s purpose is profound, beyond basic human understanding.They encourage you to revere God, not because God needs recognition, but so you can appreciate your place in a vast, dynamic natural world and your divine interconnection with all life.
• Furthermore, the Psalmist invites you to feel God’s love within yourself and to see it in everything, from the sun in the sky to the ants crawling on the ground. This love is what created you, and it is what you are.
• As both theologians and scientists will remind you, humility is knowing that a power greater than yourself keeps the world in orbit. So, rather than revere yourself because of what you produce, they encourage you to love all creations as you are loved by the Creator.
• Cultural historian Thomas Berry taught that nature was holy. By honoring nature, he said, one also ensured their own survival. In his Selected Writings on the Earth Community, he declared: “We cannot save ourselves without saving the world in which we live.  . . . We will live or die as this world lives or dies.  We can say this both physically and spiritually.  We will be spiritually nourished by this world, or we will be starved for spiritual nourishment.  No other revelatory experience can do for the human what the experience of the natural world does.”
• Demonstration is your evidence of wellbeing in all aspects of your life. You can demonstrate greater wellbeing by deepening your connection with nature and experience:
  • Awakened faith.
  • Renewed sense of purpose.
  • Heightened intuition.
  • Clearer discernment.
  • Rapid recovery from illness.
  • Increased personal energy.
  • Relief for anxiety and stress.
  • Inspired creativity, especially activated by feeling awe and wonder.
  • Constant gratitude.
  • Enhanced collaboration, compassion, and generosity.

Contemplation Questions:

As you reflect on your life and circumstances, ask yourself:

• How do I see my place in the world?
  • List, word map, or illustrate what you see.

• What are my current connections with nature?
  • List, word map, or illustrate all the connections. Everything from gardening, to stargazing, to swimming with dolphins counts.

• In what ways am I healthier in mind, body, and soul because of these connections?
  • List, word map, or illustrate all the ways.

• In what ways am I caring for the planet to support my connections?
  • List, word map, or illustrate all the ways.

• What are at least three (3) ways I can feel at home on Earth?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as you can.

As you use this devotional, take a few minutes to fully ground yourself to the Earth.  Allow its divine life energy to fill your body.  Notice the world around you.  Watch passing clouds.  Walk along a shoreline.  Dig into dirt.  See yourself as part of the radiant design of life, everything created in love and loved into being.

© 2024 – Rev. Jennifer L. Sacks – All rights reserved.

Photo from Shutterstock by ER_09.