If I were to walk in the midst of a vast desert and find a castle there, I would have no doubt in saying that someone has built a castle there; someone has made it with intelligence, patience and great skill. Why then would I not think, as I gaze upon the galaxies, upon millions of stars in the sky, or upon this wonderful earth we live in, that Someone has made it and made it beautifully so?
The heavens declare the glory of God.
The expanse shows his handiwork.
Day after day they pour out speech,
and night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
their words to the end of the world.
-Psalm 19, WEBBE
For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse. – Romans 1:20, WEBBE
For truly all men who had no perception of God were vain by nature,
and didn’t gain power to know him who exists from the good things that are seen.
They didn’t recognise the architect from his works.
But they thought that either fire, or wind, or swift air,
or circling stars, or raging water, or luminaries of heaven
were gods that rule the world.
If it was through delight in their beauty that they took them to be gods,
let them know how much better their Sovereign Lord is than these,
for the first author of beauty created them.
But if it was through astonishment at their power and influence,
then let them understand from them how much more powerful he who formed them is.
For from the greatness of the beauty of created things,
mankind forms the corresponding image of their Maker.
But yet for these men there is but small blame,
for they too perhaps go astray
while they are seeking God and desiring to find him.
For they diligently search while living amongst his works,
and they trust their sight that the things that they look at are beautiful.
But again even they are not to be excused.
For if they had power to know so much,
that they should be able to explore the world,
how is it that they didn’t find the Sovereign Lord sooner?
-Wisdom of Solomon 13:1-9, WEBBE
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"