Grown-up People are not Strong Enough to Exult in Monotony

Great reminder from Mark Batterson.

It reminded me of Thomas Carlyle’s famous caveman analogy.

Carlyle said imagine a man who lived his entire life in a cave and never stepped foot outside his darkened domain. Then, as a grown adult, the caveman steps outside to watch the sun rise for the first time in his life. Carlyle said the caveman would watch “with rapt astonishment the sight we daily witness with indifference.”

In the words of G.K. Chesterton: “Grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. Is it possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon? The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.”

I love that. And I think that’s the point of Psalm 29:1.

Rain Is For the Birds

This afternoon we had some serious rainfall for about an hour. When it was finished I happened to look out the window and see some 7 or so birds walking through our yard sucking up worms. It reminded me of this verse, which then forced me to entertain the idea that just maybe God caused some rain to fall on the ground today so that his birds could have an easier time finding some lunch. Have you ever thought about that before? That God sends rain for things like that? Seattle must have some severely hungry birds. But I digress.

Being in the middle of some streching times right now where we are trying hard to discern the hand of God, just the thought of him sending rain for the birds was comforting. If my God cares that much about those stinking blackbirds, then, as his image bearers, he must care quite a bit for the well-being of my family and I as well.

Oh that God would deepen my faith so that all my joy would be wrapped up in the delight of his goodness. Tomorrow I will begin the week with confidence knowing that I am not alone in this life, and though God’s plans and purposes may occasionally seem hidden, they are still good. And I will strive to internalize this truth. And this one too.

praising God in the storm

Tonight as I was driving home a beautiful thunderstorm was sweeping across the town I live in. The lightning was vast and bright enough to light up the entire sky. The accompanying thunder could be heard rumbling over the sound of the CD playing in the van. And as I drove I was in awe of how big and how great God is. When I got home I just parked the van in the driveway and sat in the midst of the storm reading some of the many Scripture passages that talk about lightning.

The Bible uses the imagery of thunder and lightening often to speak of God’s great power, like in David’s song of deliverance in 2 Samuel 22. Thunder and lightning also appear in the text as symbols of God’s presence among people, such as Exodus 19:16-20:22. The same words are used in Jeremiah 10:10-13 to describe God’s providential and powerful hand behind the forces of nature. There are other instances as well that describe God’s might, times of pain and dread, and future glories that we cannot understand. You can see all the uses of lightning here.

Next time you sit and blink at the great lightning flashes in the sky, and the next time you feel in your chest the deep rumblings of the thunderheads’ booms, read these awesome words from Job 36 & 37 and worship God:

26“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;
The number of His years is unsearchable.
27“For He draws up the drops of water,
They distill rain from the mist,
28Which the clouds pour down,
They drip upon man abundantly.
29“Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
The thundering of His pavilion?
30“Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him,
And He covers the depths of the sea.
31“For by these He judges peoples;
He gives food in abundance.
32“He covers His hands with the lightning,
And commands it to strike the mark.
33“Its noise declares His presence;
The cattle also, concerning what is coming up.

Job 37

1“At this also my heart trembles,
And leaps from its place.
2“Listen closely to the thunder of His voice,
And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.
3“Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,
And His lightning to the ends of the earth.
4“After it, a voice roars;
He thunders with His majestic voice,
And He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard.
5“God thunders with His voice wondrously,
Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.
6“For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
7“He seals the hand of every man,
That all men may know His work.