When did you last truly pause?

I want to ask you something honest.

When did you last step outside - not to get somewhere, not to walk the dog in a rush, not to glance at your phone between the car and the front door - but simply to be there? To feel the grass. Watch the clouds. Notice the light.

If you’re struggling to answer, researchers have a name for it: Nature Deficit Disorder. It’s the growing disconnection many of us feel from the natural world - and it’s quietly wearing us down.

Here’s what struck me this week. Psalm 19 opens with this: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.” Creation wasn’t just God’s backdrop. It was his first cathedral. A place designed for encounter - with beauty, with peace, and with him.

The University of Exeter found that just two hours a week in green spaces significantly improves health and wellbeing. Science is catching up with what Scripture told us centuries ago: creation heals us.

And here’s the hopeful bit. You don’t need a retreat or a wilderness adventure. A park bench will do. A garden corner. Even a window, approached with an expectant heart.

Jesus regularly withdrew to natural spaces to pray and be renewed. If he needed that, so do we.

So this week, I want to invite you to schedule one simple creation appointment - 20 minutes outside, no devices, just you and God.

Your soul will be glad you did.

Watch the full 5-minute devotional here:

With warmth.

Rob