Marveling at God’s Design
Scripture Reading — Job 39:13-18, 26-27
“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.”
Some years ago, I took a bus to a small village a few hours outside of Nairobi, Kenya. Partway through the trip, as I was looking out the window, I saw an ostrich running wildly alongside the bus. Its long neck and bulging eyes stuck out in front of its oddly large body, and it flapped its enormous, fluffy wings while its skinny legs pumped furiously, kicking up clouds of dust as it scurried across the savanna. I couldn’t keep from laughing! What a strange and hilarious creature!
But as outlandish as ostriches are, they still have their place in creation. Although God didn’t endow them with wisdom or good sense, he did see fit to make it possible for them to outpace horses and riders—and even transit buses on African highways! Perhaps God created such a funny creature for times when things that happen in life are just so strange that we have to shake our heads and say, “You can’t make this stuff up!” Our lives are often so complex in ways that we can’t explain, and sometimes we are left speechless.
Still, even strange and inexplicable things have their place in life. And like the wildly joyful ostrich, somehow everything fits together, in God’s wisdom.
Lord, thank you for your wonderfully diverse creation. We praise you that there’s a place for everyone in this good creation and that all things hold together in Jesus Christ. In your name we pray. Amen.
About the author — Julia Prins Vanderveen
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