God's Footstool: How Creation Draws Us Closer to Him

Have you ever had a day when you were so aware of God's presence that you couldn't stop praising Him? In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy shares a personal experience of walking through an ordinary day with an extraordinary sense of God's companionship — and the lesson it brought back to mind.

 Drawing from Isaiah 66:1 and Acts 7:49 — "Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool" — Julie unpacks a beautiful truth she discovered during years of long-distance bike training. She also shares how asking God for wisdom (James 1:5) opened her eyes to the wonder of the world around her, from deer running alongside a river trail to unexpected encounters with beavers and peacocks. 

Whether you're watching the seasons change outside your window or simply stepping outside for a walk, this episode is an invitation to slow down, look around, and encounter God through the beauty of His creation. 

Resources: 

https://confidenceingod.com/resources/

Hey Dad, It's Me! 

Episode Timeline: 11:22

0:00 — **Introduction** — Welcome to the Confidence in God Podcast 

0:28 — **Scripture Reading** — Psalm 139:7–10 (God's omnipresence) 

0:57 — **Personal Story** — A beautiful ordinary day filled with God's presence 

2:23 — **Key Scripture** — Isaiah 66:1 / Acts 7:49 — "Earth is my footstool" 

3:03 — **Worshiping at His Feet** — Appreciating creation as an act of worship 

3:37 — **Asking for Wisdom** — James 1:5 and drawing closer to God 

6:22 — **Three Lessons Learned** — What God taught through creation 

7:26 — **Becoming More Like Christ** — How God's teaching draws us closer to Him 

8:33 — **He Is Your Constant Companion** — Closing encouragement 

Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God. Have you ever had one of those days when you knew without a shadow of a doubt that God was with you? Even more so than just being with you in the moment you were confident that He is your constant companion? Can you say, as David did in Psalm 139:7-10,"Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed and Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." Well, I had one Of those days yesterday. It wasn't a hard day. In fact, it was an amazingly beautiful day. Nothing special happened unless, of course you consider the sun shining beautifully on the last day of a rather gloomy winter. I just went about my day running errands and doing household tasks. But God was so, so, so with me. I could not stop praising Him all day long. In the car. Walking into the store. At the garden center. People must have thought I was crazy because I was praising God out loud wherever I went. I was so confident He was right there with me. So my experience yesterday brought back to mind something God taught me several years ago that I want to share with you. Some years ago, my husband and I were training for long distance bike rides. As we rode our bikes for many miles along the country, roads. I had a lot of time to talk with God. During that time, God showed me more and more of his creation and the wildlife within it. And I grew to appreciate it more and more. One day, as I was talking to the Lord about how I so enjoyed His creation, He brought to my mind what He said to His people through the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 66:1, which was later quoted by Luke in Acts 7:49, and it reads,"Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool." What God showed me that day is as we appreciate His creation, not worshiping it, but turning our eyes to God, the Creator, because of the beauty and majesty of His creation, we are worshiping at His feet. What an awesome, awesome privilege we have of living in a world where we can see the beauty of His creation all around us, which enables us to worship at His feet daily. As my husband and I continued our long distance bike rides, I continued learning more about how God walks with us as we draw closer to Him and wish to understand more about Him. As the Apostle James writes in James 1:5, we can ask God for wisdom and He will give it to us liberally, without reproaching us or making us feel bad for asking. I fondly recall that as I was training for the long distance bike rides, I began asking God for understanding and receiving it from Him. My husband and I were training to ride our bicycles for a 200 mile, two-day fundraising event. We were preparing to ride 100 miles on two consecutive days. Preparing to bike long distances includes building one's muscles, cardiovascular system, and backside. Sitting on a bicycle saddle for five to seven hours is not comfortable and makes it necessary to condition one's rear end to build endurance. My husband and I trained by riding bikes 20 miles, three nights each week, and then we rode longer distances on Saturdays to build up to 100 miles. The first year we rode in the fundraiser, we trained at the little Miami Scenic River Trail, an abandoned railroad track that had been converted to a paved trail by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. The trail runs 50 miles along the Little Miami River through forests and valleys, affording many opportunities to observe, hopefully not too closely, the wildlife in the area. The next year we branched off onto country roads, which again afforded opportunities to observe wildlife. As I spent so many hours in nature, I learned to really appreciate God's creation. I would also pray while on my bike. God seemed to increasingly show me different animals as I rode, which always delighted me. I loved having deer run alongside us between the trail and the river. I was blessed to see a peacock near the road, and I caught my breath as two beavers in my path, darted into a hole underneath the road just as I was about to hit them. That time, I thought I was going to lose control of the bike and end up on the road myself. Thankfully, I did not. As I was encountering these amazing animals and conversing with God, I would ask Him why He seemed to be increasing the number and kinds of animals I saw. Over time. I learned several things. First, the more we find pleasure in God, the more it pleases Him to bless us. Second, when He made the earth and its inhabitants, He could have made just enough to make it functional, but God made it beautiful and adventurous for our pleasure. And finally, as I read a moment ago from Isaiah 66:1, which was quoted by Luke in Acts 7:49, the Earth is His footstool. So when I love, appreciate, and am thankful for nature, God's creation, I am worshiping at His feet. Because I sought to know more about my Heavenly Father, God showed me more about Himself. When I lacked wisdom about His creation, about Him, about how he wishes to relate to us, all I had to do was ask. He freely and beautifully taught me, and by teaching me, He helped me become more like Christ, drawing me closer to Him as I began to see and appreciate the beauty of His creation. Today, I want to encourage you to look around you and see God through His creation. If you live in an area where the season is changing from winter to spring, you'll notice new life springing out of the dormancy of the winter season. Birds have returned to the colder areas in anticipation of warmer weather. The grass is greening, the trees are budding, and even some flowers are blooming. These are just a few of the things God created for us to enjoy and to find Him through them. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not proposing worshiping nature, but I am encouraging you to sit at God's feet and worship Him as you observe how richly He has blessed us with the beauty of His creation. And remember as you walk through the changing seasons of life, He is your constant companion. I want to close in prayer. Precious Jesus, thank you so much for all that you have created for us, for the beauty that you have given us, so that we can see you, so that we can enjoy it, so that it just brings smiles to our face. And as I often say to you, Lord. I hope we bring smiles to your face as well. Oh, how I love your creation because you have made it so beautiful for us, and I pray that you'll draw each of us to put aside the things that stress us, to put aside the things that draw us away from our minds being on you, and just to sit in your nature and to see the beauty that you have given us and to love you and to worship at your feet. We praise you. You are so worthy of praise, glory, and honor. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen. If you are struggling having confidence that God is hearing and responding to the prayers you're praying, I invite you to check out a resource I have available for you titled"How to Have Confidence In Your Prayer Life." You can have immediate access to it at confidenceingod.com/resources. I'll drop a link to it in the show notes. Just click on it and click on the resource. It is freely available to you. Also, if you're interested in learning more about how we become more like Christ and our identity in Him, check out chapter two, titled"Inherited Characteristics We Will Be Like Him" in"Hey Dad, It's Me! Discover the Father Who Loves and Protects You." The book is available on Amazon and I'll drop a link to it in the show notes also. That's it for today. If you find this podcast episode helpful, please take a second and subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out and share it with your friends and loved ones. Also, it would be great if you would rate or review our show that way more people can find out about it. I would really love to hear from you. Let me know how God has blessed you more and more as you have drawn close to Him. I so appreciate those of you who have contacted me with your prayer request. Please know that I pray for you daily. If you need prayer, please reach out to me and let me support you in prayer. Until next time, let's be confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.