Just Below the Surface

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O LORD, are on high forever. (Psalm 92:1-8 ESV). They're everywhere. Squiggling. Squirming. Munching. Bunching. Killing. Creating. Poisoning. Fertilizing. According to scientists at the University of Georgia, our little planet is teeming with 5 million trillion trillion (5 followed by 30 zeros) of them. These are bacteria, also known as procaryotes. They are single-celled organisms that may be seen only under a microscope. Most of the time we associate them with disease and illness. However, as William Whitman, a microbiologist, observed, "Because bacteria are essentially invisible, it's easy to forget their role is making air, purifying water, fertilizing the soil, and they are important in making food and vitamins." He also noted that 92 to 94 percent of all bacteria are in the soil subsurface. What are they doing down there below the surface? They're eating up junk and making the soil rich enough to support plants on the surface. Bacteria. They're invisible, present nearly everywhere on the planet, and for the most part work below the surface. God created them to play a key role in sustaining life on earth. It seems that the more I learn about details of nature like these, the more I appreciate the unfathomable power and wisdom of the One who created our complex world. With the psalmist I want to cry out, "How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts!" Our Lord is at work not only in the big and very visible aspects of the world, but in the invisible-to-the-eye ways as well. That's true not only in the world of nature but also in God's work in human lives. Most of God's work is done below the surface, deep within us, in the unseen decisions, interests, and motives of our lives. It is through His invisible Spirit that He gives us new spiritual life when He moves us to put faith in His Son. And He continues to work in us, sustaining our lives and making us more like Jesus. Without Him, without His work in our lives, we would be dead physically and spiritually. As we grow in our understanding of all that God has done and all that He continues to do, invisibly, just below the surface in our lives, we too should respond with the words, "How great are Your works, O Lord, how profound Your thoughts!"