The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
~Psalm 19:1-2
It's exhilarating to encounter God’s majesty in creation: the enormous granite cliffs of Yosemite, the violent waves over the slate-grey Atlantic, the quiet Scottish meadows, and the wilting Arabian sands—God is everywhere whispering his wonders and revealing his mysteries. Every one of us can probably remember a holy moment we’ve had in nature: dumbstruck by a simple rainbow, or straining to see a nest of robins hatching in a crab apple tree, or gazing at the purple horizon in the wake of the glowing sunken sun.
The longest day of my life started at the edge of the Sinai Desert. At 6 a.m. I arose to spend the day swimming with exotic fish in the Red Sea, then watched the sunset over the same sparkling waters Moses parted for the Israelites. At 11 p.m., we jumped into a taxi, drove two hours to Mt. Sinai, climbed onto the backs of camels, and ascended the wild inky mountain under a cobalt sky. The orange full moon kept us company, turn by turn, pass by pass, as we weaved our way through the sacred night. By 3:30 a.m., we had rolled out wool blankets on a flat stone slab on the pinnacle. Only an hour later, the sun began glowing above the vast and terrible wasteland called the Sinai wilderness. These places, these extraordinary places, are full of grandeur and memory. They house our stories and host God’s presence. And so do the everyday chirping of swallows and the horses stamping their hooves against the February chill.
“The heavens declare the glory of the Lord.” All is sacred space; all of creation is his ornately adorned temple. He is the artist who autographed his living landscape as his canvas. His canvas reveals the science and the poetry of life. It is full of the fury and glory of his wildness, the order and symmetry of his gentleness. He invites us to find him in all and through all of it. These peaks and valleys and miracles of life remind us of God’s mystery and beauty. They are metaphors and living analogs that communicate something about him.
“Day after day they pour forth speech.” We never have to wake up worrying about whether the sun will stop talking. It tells us of God’s wisdom and guiding light. This is the warmth of God’s world. The earth is not—as the skeptics say—an insignificant blue dot in a vastly meaningless expanse of sterile dark space. It’s exactly the opposite. God set up this epic dramatic tapestry—the Universe—to show how big he is and to reveal how especially different and unique we are to him. The earth is a livable, hospitable, and generous place full of life, community, stories, and poetry. It reveals the science and artistry of God. He is a mathematician and poet. He is a scientist and storyteller. He is a Creator and adventurer. We get to celebrate the Lord in his cosmic temple and enjoy his company everywhere we go. Worship with me through the words of the Psalm,
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
~Psalm 139:7-12
Tags: worship, nature, light, glory, artist, creator, sky
