The Grandeur of God

So I have this picture:

This was taken in the rugged terrain of northern Arizona, just south of the Grand Canyon. After spending hours taking in views like the ones at the very bottom of this entry, my dad and brother and I were inundated by this riot in the sky. From time to time as we watched, all these sweeping colors were cut by hot lightening bolts (wish it was easier to catch lighting on film), and as the colors dampened from the darkness and the dry thunderclouds, the full moon somehow pealed through and crowded into the scene.

It was as if our feet were glued to the desert ground. It’s amazing how a scene like this in the open wilderness could not only speak volumes about the wonder of the God who painted it, but also could make me completely aware of who I was not.

Just when you think you’re something…A God who balances the planet (and plenty of other planets) in its orbit; who scattered the stars into empty space; who hovers over deep oceans and shifts the rumbling thunderclouds…can easily remind you in one instant of the scope of His bigness and power.

As I’ve continued in my treks to little known natural places, I never stop discovering that there is nowhere where He is not present...........And sharply present.

In an abandoned out-of-the-way corner, you may find the soil stuffed with all kinds of greenery…each individual plant with cells perfectly arranged and with its own intricate seeds and flowers. Closer to the ground you may find an insect with elaborate color patterns too minute to see with the naked eye. Hawks may fly overhead with wings and feathers perfectly designed to hover in the wind. No matter how far you may roam, the story is the same…Our God is everywhere…No place too big and no place too small. The earth happens to be saturated with the presence and glory of God.

After taking all this in, the wonder is that the same hands that threw the stars into the black sky are the hands that worked at a carpenter’s bench…and eventually the hands that knew nails.

It appears that yes…there really is nowhere that He will not go. The God that shaped the planets, tosses comets around, and stirs up the waves….Lives in me?? Hold up.

While the truth that He lives in me is a stretch, the reality that He actually gave up everything to live and die for you and me is even harder to grapple with. Hopefully someday I will understand the humility that caused the Most Powerful of All to willingly assume the most powerless position on earth. Until then? Hmmm….