Theme: Faith, it begins by believing that everything was created by the word of God
“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:3
Thought:
A couple of my children are artists, and I have enjoyed observing all sorts of art. Whether paintings, sculptures, ceramics, or other forms of art, I enjoy seeing and admiring the artist’s work. In works of art, we enjoy the artist’s creativity, from the coordination of various colors to the creation of a beautiful copy of a natural scene. There is an art museum in Stockton, California, called The Haggin Museum. A few years ago, my wife and I visited it, and I had to stop and take my time to enjoy many of the paintings. One artist I especially enjoyed was Albert Bierstadt. You can dwell on the beautiful details in his paintings and almost feel as if you are in Yosemite Valley or one of his other picture locations, lost in one of his paintings.
If it is a painting, I look at the lower-right corner; if it is ceramics, I look at the lower part or the underside. If a sculpture, I look for some sign of the artist. When I admire a piece of art, I want to see who created it. Part of enjoying art is admiring and appreciating the artist.
I also enjoy seeing how something works. When I think of an automobile or an airplane, I admire the design and craftsmanship, and also how all the parts work together to move us safely and comfortably from point A to B. Growing up, my dad often had my brother and me help him maintain or fix one of our vehicles. I learned a little about combustion, valves, and pistons. He showed us how to change the oil and spark plugs, so I learned some of how this all worked together. But when I step back and think about what went into designing and producing a vehicle that transports us, I admire the engineers who made it. I find it interesting that we are careful to credit the designers and engineers for these amazing machines, yet when you look at a person, we credit chance for such a complicated creation.
As a biology major, I was told that everything is moving from a state of order to disorder, yet we credit chance and millions of years for mankind advancing and getting better. With art and engineering, we recognize there is a talented artist or engineer, but with the amazing creation around us, we forget the creator and focus on the creation.
Thinking about this post, I took a walk through the woods across the street from where we were staying in Lynchburg, VA. A pair of cardinals flew in front of me, and I was reminded not only of the power of God in creation, but also of the wisdom in making animals that could fly along with so many other types of plants and animals. I am also reminded of His sense of beauty in creating something that makes us wonder and enjoy.
I have enjoyed reading and slowly memorizing Hebrews 11 over the past year. I find that scripture memory is a great Bible Study tool, not just to memorize the words, but to memorize by understanding and putting phrases together as a clear thought. By reviewing and meditating on this chapter, I chew on these verses and often learn something new almost every day.
So, with Hebrews 11, I want to understand: what is faith, how do I live by faith, and why is it important to God, “for without faith it is impossible to please God.” (11:6)
In Hebrews 11:3, we read, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God.” Faith begins by believing that God, by His word, made all of creation. This is consistent with Genesis 1:1 where we read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John 1:1-3 reads “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Here, “Word” refers to Christ, who shows us God, even as a particular word spoken pictures an object to us in our minds. Christ, who is God, shows us God, and He, by His word, created the world around us.
We honor God and show our faith in Him by giving Him credit for creating the beautiful world around us. Hebrews 11:3 finishes with the phrase, “So that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” God did not just take substance already made, at least nothing visible, and form it into something new, He made all of creation out of nothing.
John MacArthur, in his commentary on Hebrews, wrote, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, a truth the world’s most brilliant thinkers have not discovered and cannot discover on their own. It is beyond the realm of scientific investigation, but it is not beyond knowing-if we are willing to be taught by the Word of God.” (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, page 293)
Do you thank and praise Him for the complexity of our biological systems that work so well together? Thinking about the complexity of life is another testimony to God being our creator.
In Psalm 19, David helps me recognize God’s handiwork all around me. “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” In Psalm 8, David helps me honor and give credit to God for His creation. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth, who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for Him?” (8:1,3)
All of creation points to a beautiful, loving, and wise creator, but let us heed Paul’s warning in Romans 1:25 to be sure to worship the creator and not His creation instead. “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
It is a significant phrase to say “thank God.” How do we give God the credit and therefore honor due Him in our conversations with others? Do we take away from giving God credit and honor by not thanking Him out loud when we need to? There is significance in living by faith, not only in believing that God created our world, but also in recognizing this before others, giving testimony to it, and then thanking God for His amazing creation.
My wife gave me an illustration of how to naturally bring God into our daily conversation. She was working as a nurse at our local hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona. Looking out a third-story window toward the San Francisco Peaks, she commented to her patient, “Isn’t God’s creation beautiful?” And from a hospital bed, no one ever disputed it.
Reflection:
How might you recognize God as creator by thanking Him in your conversations, or cause curiosity about God as creator with a timely question?
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for creating the world we live in, and help me recognize you as the creator in my conversations this week. (4/6/2026)
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