Nature by Design

Several years ago, an agricultural scientist was searching for a way to eliminate the destructive horn beetle without destroying other beneficial insects. The horn beetle has long antennas which he uses for navigation. The scientist was scraping one of these antennas when he discovered the secret of its remarkable sense of direction was built in radar he used as a receiver. The scientist wrote an article for a popular agricultural magazine describing this incredible radar guidance system. He went into considerable detail and gave specifics about his breakthrough discovery.
A few days later, the FBI arrested and questioned him. They wanted to know how he got the information about the new radar guidance system. He had to do some serious explaining to convince them his information came from the pesky horn beetle.
It turned out that the radar guidance system he had discovered was a new, state of the art, guidance system NASA had begun to operate in space travel. NASA kept the ‘secrets’ under lock and key, and only a limited number of people were aware of its existence. Everyone involved in the project had the highest security clearance. The FBI couldn’t imagine how a mere agriculture scientist could know of its existence and the intricate details of its operation.
Some scientists believe the horned beetle has been around for three million years and makes up one-fourth of the animal population on earth at any one time. NASA stumbled onto the radar guidance system that God had placed in this insect so long ago.
Most of our marvelous creations are like this unassuming horn beetle. We think we are so smart, and yet, all we do is expose God’s marvelous design already functioning in nature.
Have you ever wondered how a salmon finds her way back home to spawn? After she hatches, she travels thousands of miles to the ocean to stay for four to six years. Then, swimming upstream, she returns to the same river or stream where she was born to lay eggs and reproduce. She does this through her impeccable sense of smell.
Most things in nature have an even number of rows or lines. Corn always has an even number of rows on each ear. Watermelon has an even number of stripes, and so does cantaloupe. How can people see God’s design in the world and not believe in the Creator who created it in so much detail?
I once heard someone say, “To believe in the ‘Big Bang Theory’ makes about as much sense as believing an explosion in a printing plant resulted in the creation of Webster’s Dictionary.”
God often uses nature to get our attention. I have a pastor friend who was staying at a hotel in Alaska during the winter. He was going through a devastating event in his life and was questioning his relationship with God and even his calling to the ministry. During a difficult moment, he went out to walk in the icy snow surrounding the hotel and wound up on a park bench next door. Of course, there was nothing green anywhere, and the cold weather didn’t help his mood.



In his pain, he closed his eyes and cried out to God. When he opened them, he noticed a single blue flower blooming near the edge of the bench where he was sitting. He didn’t know how long the bloom had been growing through all the ice, but it moved him to tears. The little blue flower was the only living matter in all the ice. He told us God had placed it there just for him.
God has a way of doing that. A bird singing, a single cloud the size of a fist, the scent of a newborn baby, or a flower growing through ice and snow in Alaska can get our attention and influence our hearts wherever we are. With our busy schedules, we often fail to take the time to appreciate the wonders of God’s creation.
We all go through trials and get discouraged at times. We can get so busy doing his work we ignore him in the process. God’s sweet voice is easy to overlook or push aside when life’s pressures push in on us. Sometimes we need to slow down, sit outside in a lawn chair, and breathe deeply as we consider the Creator who loves us so much that he uses his own creation to support and encourage us.