Astronaut sees design and purpose in creation during space travels

American astronaut Jeff Williams acknowledged God's handiwork when he described the view of earth from outer space.

Williams spoke to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) chapel through a NASA downlink interview with SBTS President Albert Mohler Jr.

When Mohler asked Williams what he sees when he looks at Earth while in orbit, he replied, "When I look out the window and I see this, all of the elements are what you would imagine you would see with a creative work by an infinite God."

"You see the design, you see the beauty, you see the purpose, you see all of those elements, you see order in all the details," he added.

Williams, the commander of Expedition 48, spoke with Mohler on Tuesday morning for about 15 minutes from the International Space Station (ISS). During the interview, Williams showed the 800mm lens camera that he uses to take his pictures. He sent photographs of the SBTS campus taken from the ISS.

When he spoke about walking in space, he described it as "challenging" but "an amazing experience."

"It just deepens a comprehension, the observation of what we know through Scripture about the amazing creative work of God. It's an incredibly humbling experience," he remarked.

Williams is a regular listener of Mohler's podcast even while in orbit. He confessed that he misses his wife and immediate family. He revealed that he has a grandchild whom he has not met face to face.

Williams began his career as a test pilot and was selected to become an astronaut in 1996. At that time, U.S. and Russia were still in the early stages of the development of the ISS. Williams wrote the book "The Work of His Hands: A View of God's Creation From Space" to describe his experiences in orbit.

Expedition 48 launched on July 7 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Williams recently completed the mission's second spacewalk with flight engineer Kate Rubins. He is expected to land on Sept. 6 with a record of 534 cumulative days in space, surpassing the record of astronaut Scott Kelly by two weeks.