The Old Testament reading for this week is a long one (Genesis 1:1–2:3). It’s the account of creation, and it always sets my mind wandering back to how I understood creation and the weather as a little girl. I believed thunder wasn’t scary because it was simply the clouds bumping into each other. Snow fell because it got cold in heaven. The wind was God letting out a big breath, and the rain… well, I was convinced that even God needed to go to the toilet sometimes.
People hold many different views about how creation happened and how it all works, but for me the most important thing is this: God was behind it all.
Thinking that way allows my imagination to run wild. I love picturing God looking at the world He was forming and thinking, “Not bad—I did that.” I can imagine Him like an artist seeking perfection, almost playful in His creativity. “Let’s see what happens if I separate the waters,” I imagine Him saying. “Let’s see what else I can make.”
When God created, He also created us—and this is where things became less perfect, as humans began to drift away from Him. Creation lost some of its original beauty because sin had entered the world.
The reading from Romans (8:18–25) helps me connect with the concerns of those who recognised that the world was no longer as God intended. When I look at suffering and at wars, it would be easy to become discouraged. But, like the people who first received Paul’s letter, I wait with the assurance that God is in control. All the suffering I see now is nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed when I see God face to face.
And yet, it’s the gospel reading (Matthew 6:25–34) that helps me most as I think about creation today. I find myself imagining the scene: the disciples sitting and listening as Jesus told them not to worry. He didn’t leave them with just the instruction—He pointed to creation to explain why.
This is where I’m helped again, because I imagine Jesus speaking with joy and wonder as He looked at the world around Him. He noticed the birds—free, unworried, provided for. He saw the lilies—growing beautifully without fear or striving.
Jesus used creation itself to show the joy God felt in making it. That should encourage me not to worry. I know that trusting God can be difficult in hard times, but these readings remind me of God’s delight in creating and His love for me. That should be a source of hope.
Worry won’t disappear completely, but it becomes easier to bear when I remember that the God who created with such joy wants me to experience that joy too. As I turn to Him and become more like Him, He protects me, loves me, and invites me into the freedom He intended from the beginning.
