Wondrous World

“O LORD, how many are Thy works!
In wisdom Thou hast made them all.
The earth is full of Thy possessions.” Psalm 104:24

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We are surrounded by unnoticed miracles on a daily basis which most of us never see or consider. We will be amazed if we wake up to it all with a resulting praise for God for His marvelous works! If we consider how incredible the existence is of even a blade of grass, we would spend much of our time wandering in open-mouthed wonder over God’s creation!

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Even the briefest surface-reviewing of a very small sample of these miracles is stunning. Consider the miracle of earth’s placement and atmosphere, and our relationship to the sun and the moon.

The earth is in a “Goldilocks” zone where the distance from the sun enables temperatures that are ideal for liquid water -- allowing for our life on the planet. If we were closer to the sun we would burn up; if we were farther away, we would freeze.

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Our atmosphere is a mix of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases in the correct proportions to sustain that life. The atmosphere also absorbs almost all of the harmful UV rays emitted by the sun, and the gravitational pull from the sun keeps us in our orbit.

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“O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Thy name in all the earth
Who hast displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!” Psalm 8:1

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The sun is also responsible for our water cycle. It evaporates water from the surface
of the earth, stabilizing ocean levels. As the water rises into the atmosphere, it forms clouds which will cause rain to replenish the land, seas, lakes, and rivers. Because the sun heats the earth unevenly, winds are created. The air above land heats faster than the air above the ocean. The hotter air over land rises, and the colder air from the ocean rushes into the space created by the rising hot air. At night, the air cools faster on land, causing the wind to reverse direction.

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“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers,
The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained --
What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? Psalm 8:3-4

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The moon has its own set of contributions to the stability of the planet. It is much larger in proportion to the earth’s size than moons orbiting other planets. It is able to stabilize the tilt of earth’s axis which enables the seasons. It helps to regulate the tides, and it aides in nocturnal navigation by many bird species.

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“Sing to Him, sing praises to Him.

Speak to all His wonders.” Psalm 105:2

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All these processes, and infinitely more, work together to sustain the planet. And they are all the product of the Great Creative Mind of God.

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“For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen -- being understood through what has been made...” Romans 1:20

Consider the miracle of photosynthesis. When we get hungry, we find something to eat. When a plant gets hungry, it manufacturers food for itself. It does this by taking light energy, water, and gases from the atmosphere and converting them to chemical energy in the form of glucose, or sugars. All organisms that use photosynthesis to produce glucose have some structure that enables them to collect water. Most plants use a root system. They are able to absorb CO2 from the surrounding atmosphere through tiny holes in their leaves. And, most amazing of all, they are able to use light energy directly from the sun to power their chloroplasts, the cells in their leaves that act as little chemical factories to break down the molecules of CO2 and H2O, reorganize them, and turn them into glucose and oxygen. The chemical equation looks like this:

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6Co2 + 6H2O + light energy = C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2

The excess oxygen is released back into the atmosphere through the same tiny holes in the leaves that absorbed the CO2.

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“And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food...” Genesis 2:9

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He not only feeds our stomachs, He feeds our eyes!

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Consider the miracle of sight. Eighty percent of the information our brain receives comes through our eyes -- which are the second most complicated organ in our bodies, exceeded only by our brains. Both are creations of exceeding complexity.

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We see by a series of steps that are constantly happening whenever our eyes are open. First, light is reflected from an object into the window of our eyes, which is the cornea. The cornea is curved, which causes the light to bend. The amount of light allowed to enter is controlled by the pupil, which expands or contracts in response to the surrounding light. The next structure is called the lens, the shape of which is automatically controlled by tiny ciliary muscles which adjust the shape of the lens to let us focus on objects at different distances. This response is not controlled by the brain; it is a reflex action. The lens’ job is to focus light on the retina. At this point, the light has been bent twice, once in the cornea and again in the lens, which causes the image to flip upside down.

Cone cells in the retina are responsible for daytime vision. Different types of cone cells are sensitive to different wavelengths of light and are able to work together to enable us to see different colors. Rod cells, used for night vision, detect light but not color, which is why we only see shades of gray at night. Both cones and rods transform light into electrical impulses which are then sent to the brain through the optic nerve which consists of more than a million nerve cells. The brain, most impressive organ of all, is able to decode the electrical impulses into what we know as sight.

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“My son, give attention to my words.
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight.
Keep them in the midst of your heart.” Proverbs 4:20-21

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Consider the miracles of adaptation in the animal world. Each animal has its own niche in nature, and each animal is uniquely suited for life within its niche. Staying with the topic of sight, a few amazing adaptations are:

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The marlin, a type of predatory fish, swims and hunts in extremely cold ocean depths.
It has enlarged muscles around its eyes which generate enough heat to keep the marlin’s brain warm and prevent mental sluggishness.

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The Stargazer fish spends its time buried in the sand. With both eyes on top of its head, it is able to see prey swimming by, and is able to stun that prey with bolts of electricity through special muscles by its eyes.

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The Anableps fish is also called the four-eyed fish because the iris in its eye is split in half. This enables it to see above and below the water at the same time.

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Nocturnal animals have reflective elements in their eyes which increases the available light they can use -- enabling them to be active at night.

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Birds, who need exceptional vision, have four or five types of cone cells compared to
our three. They also have a million photoreceptors per square millimeter of retinal tissue as opposed to our 200,000. These adaptations allow them to see details that are imperceptible to humans. Raptors' eyes in particular are unique in the animal world because of altered structures and special muscles that give them great visual acuity. They are also able to process an image on their retina and bypass the brain -- which enables them to react immediately to what they are seeing.

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“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you --

And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.

Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you.
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.

Who among these does not know
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing

And the breath of all mankind?” Job 12:7-10

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The consideration of these miracles, and so many others, strengthens our faith. God has enveloped us in His love! He did not have to make such a curious and diverse world
for us. But in His wisdom, power, and great love, He has made the world to delight us
-- not just to sustain us. Praise and worship for Him are only reasonable considering

his extraordinary creation! Eventually (fairly soon!), we will get the point.

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“Ah, LORD GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee...” Jeremiah 32:17

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