And Heaven and Nature Sing (from “Joy to the World”)

By Angeles Otero, M.D.
Clermont, Florida, USA

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 19:1-4

Psalm 19:1-4 (ESV)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun.

I write this devotional as I sit outside overlooking a lake and admiring God's beautiful creation.  As the scripture says, God's handiwork declares His powerful existence. Romans 1:20 says something similar in a different way: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”  (Romans 1:20 ESV)

I will honestly admit that I have always been a person who doubts and I still sometimes struggle with doubt to this day.  Here is the funny thing, I don’t doubt God’s love for me. But for some odd and quite illogical reason I will doubt His existence. Somehow, there are these small thoughts that enter my head like they did to Eve, “Do you really believe…?”

Amazing Creator

When I was a medical student, God always kept showing Himself to me as an amazing creator.  I see His power in the microscopic living cells of our bodies, which contain over 37 trillion cells!  Each of these amazing cells in your body developed from one cell and each of these cells is a tiny complex factory that is constantly producing something. Think about this: the cells in your heart, a red blood cell, a brain cell, a skin cell; they all developed from one progenitor cell. That is just flat-out amazing!

I always asked the annoying questions in medical school and I remember in biochemistry learning that proteins could not be made without DNA then later I learned that DNA could not be made without proteins.  Soooooo, I asked my professor, how could the first protein be made or the first DNA molecule be made if one needed the other?  Of course, there’s no answer to that (like the chicken and the egg). So when my professor looked at me unpleasantly and said, “Yes, I know the problem you ask but I don’t have the answer,” it immediately helped me see that there has to be an amazingly intelligent creator behind all of it.  God literally had to put me through medical school just to strengthen my faith in Him!

It’s been over 25 years since then, and I still have to find things to keep strengthening my faith in my creator and I actually find it fun. I have had to purchase and read Christian apologetics that help me. We have a plethora of books like Is there a God? by John Oakes, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, and many more (my office at home is full of these books).

Incredible Universe

I love learning about the incredible universe that my eternal Father spoke into existence.  I am amazed how some scientists continue to find things that point to a creator.  For example, there is the fact that the universe is expanding.  Into what, exactly, is it expanding? Who knows? God does.

Cassiopeia A is among the best-studied supernova remnants. This image blends data from NASA's Spitzer (red), Hubble (yellow), and Chandra (green and blue) observatories.
Source: NASA/JPL-CALTECH/STSCI/CXC/SAO

I was reading an online news article about a new type of neutron star that was discovered and that scientists say should not exist because it can’t be explained by the current scientific knowledge of the smartest astronomers out there. They are dumbfounded. I am quite sure they are scratching their heads because there is something that they have discovered that, according to their extremely intelligent minds, cannot exist.  I love it because it is our immensely intelligent God who creates these things.

Some of my friends and I have a phrase—“Wow, God!” We use it when God does things, whether small or large, to help us see His hand in our lives. It can be something as small as finding an amazing parking spot to healing a loved one of cancer.

So, when I am struggling with my faith or just with life and the things going on around me, I look for places that “declare the Glory of God” and it always helps me remember that this omnipotent and omniscient Creator loves me intimately.  I have a few special places where I go alone and connect with God.  Luckily, my current place is in my backyard. When I lived in New York City, I discovered a beautiful park called the Cloisters that overlooked the Hudson River. 

Questions for Reflection:

1.      What are the doubts that you struggle with most? 
2.      What are things you can do to help build your faith and overcome these doubts?
3.      What are some amazing things God has done in your life that makes you think “wow God, you did this for me!”?

Today I will:

Do you have a “special place” with God where you can see His power in creation?  Go there this week and just sit and admire what He has done. If you don’t have a spot, I urge you to have fun looking for one! 

About the Author:

Angeles Otero was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York City, where she became a Christian in 1991.  Her family moved to Clermont, Florida, in 2006.  She has been a pediatrician since 1999.  She recently sold her private practice of nine providers and continues to work seeing patients three days a week. Angeles has been a women’s ministry leader for eight years and serves with her husband, Raul, in the South Lake Church of Christ in Clermont, Florida.  The Oteros have been married for 19 years and have a beautiful 17-year-old daughter who was baptized in August 2022.  Angeles’ greatest joy is seeing someone's heart change as a result of God’s word.

To hear a special version of "Joy to the World" sung by your sister Amy Kinzer, click the image below: