I think each of us has had those times in life when you are moved in such a way that you just remain silent. Words just don’t come. You just stop and look or listen, and that seems appropriate. As an older person I stood on a mountain top and beheld the wonder of a rocky peak force it’s presence between the clouds as if to get a little sunshine. It was awesome inspiring. No words seemed available to describe it.
Last week I witnessed two children walking together, talking, and skipping a long with such delight. They came to a wide river, the water was smooth like glass, and the white puffy clouds were reflected on the water. And they stopped. They were completely quiet. They were seeing something beyond them, something that said, “Be still, I am here”.
Not long ago, I looked into the night sky and saw the Milky Way high above scattering its amazing beauty across the sky. I marveled. Across the oceans in a far distant land the same constellation of stars was visible, with the same distinct beauty. No matter where you go, behind the clouds, in the distant sky, you will find it, bringing to the observer a response of awe and wonder. When you see it beyond the smoke and clouds you too will know, there is someone great, awesome in majesty, and transcendent in beauty. This is his handiwork, and he is speaking to you.
David, the Jewish Psalm writer says it well:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the world of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4
The creation itself is a speech about God and who he is. In his handiwork God calls to each of us and he repeatedly invites us into a relationship with him. He who created and maintains all things, things great and tiny, and who holds them in their proper place, is inviting you into a relationship that cannot be broken or washed away. It cannot be lost or taken from you. It cannot be purchased or bargained for. It is simply given. Pause a moment. “I am coming God. I am coming. Nothing in my hands do I bring. I come in the name of Jesus. I come.”
