Monarch Pass

We had the privilege to go on an extended vacation last summer. We traveled throughout the western United States and visited many of our national parks.

The sights and sounds were incredible. Often, the primary sound we heard was silence, as the beauty of the national park was mesmerizing in itself … words were impossible to describe the beauty and we just drank in the view.

The Grand Tetons were magnificent in their snow-topped heights, and sprawling majesty.

The colors and pillars (called “Hoodoos”) of Bryce Canyon became etched in our minds as we considered the beauty and majesty of God’s handiwork.

Monarch Pass in Colorado, at an elevation of 11,312 feet, was windy, cold and dizzying when viewing the mountaintops that surrounded the parking lot at the summit.

Descending form the parking area, the mountains were up close and personal. Visages of raw power, strength and rugged beauty.

We were praising God throughout our trip as we saw glorious, sculpted rock pillars in numerous variations of colors and shapes, and prevalent even along the highways. We praised our God for the beauty of the mountains and for the wondrous provision of water, lakes, rivers, ponds and fountains throughout the hills and byways.

The hymn “How Great Thou Art” does a good job of summarizing our reaction and wonder as we got a view of God’s creation that was different than we usually experience in East Tennessee.

HOW GREAT THOU ART

[Verse 1]

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

[Refrain]
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

[Verse 2]
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze

[Refrain]

[Verse 3]
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.

[Refrain]

[Verse 4]
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

[Refrain]

Of course, the hymn does not describe merely the creation that God has provided to us, it goes on to describe the glories of salvation that God has given when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Creation tells us that God exists. Salvation tells us the magnitude of God’s love for His people in that He sent Christ to pay for our sin. Praise is the our rightful response for both His creation and His gift of salvation.

The Book of Psalms in the Bible is the hymnbook of the Israelites, and it is full of exhortation to praise the Lord. Here are just some of the verses that admonish us to praise Him:

“Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:”

Psalm 102:18

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Psalm 106:1

“Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!”

Psalm 113:1

“Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!“

Psalm 117:1-2

The book of Psalms ends with this same exhortation that applies to everyone:

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!”

Psalm 150:6

Oh, that I would remember how great our God is even during the humdrum activities of life that so often seem to be frustrating and irritating. When we consider all that God has done for us through Jesus Christ, His Son, we should be shouting our praise and love for Him from the housetops, in everything that we do and in all the ways we serve others.

Praising the Lord is a matter of the heart. We can have a settled heart and mind because we can praise the Lord through whatever comes our way. Praise Him when good things happen, certainly. That’s not hard! But, praising Him when adversity may arise is difficult. We know that pain will be present in our lives; difficulties will present themselves at unexpected and usually inconvenient times; heartache will interrupt our lives when malevolent activities cause grief and loss.

Beloved, no matter what we may have to endure, nothing will take us out of the Hand of our God, the Almighty God who uses even these hard times to transform us into the image of His Son. This is why we can praise the Lord even as we are in tears.

“Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!”

Psalm 112:1

Praise the Lord. I am challenging myself to make praise my “default position” before God. Care to join me in this challenge?

Father, I praise Your Name for the wonder and glory of salvation through Christ our Lord. I praise You Name when I see the creation that You have placed before me, and when I think of Your steadfast love and mercy. Enable me to praise You even more each day, and may I make praise my “default position” before You!

We have just returned from a trip that covered over 6,000 miles, through lands that were densely populated and through lands where there was no person or building for hundreds of miles at a time. We experienced mountains followed by corn fields which were followed by huge ranch areas which had brush, cacti and very few trees. We were in the desert and going through Monarch Pass which registers over 11,000 feet above sea level. It was an incredible feeling to be standing at the Continental Divide, ears popping all the while!

The variety of the landscape is impossible to describe as we traversed from Tennessee to South Dakota, then to Wyoming, on to Idaho, then to Utah, and Colorado, Kansas and Missouri, ultimately returning to home in East Tennessee.

The trip and the thousands of digital pictures will be subject of many future blog posts, I suspect. Suffice it to say today that our overwhelming experience was encountering our marvelous God everywhere we looked. Saint John wrote in the Book of Revelation:

“”Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.””

Revelation 4:11

This is the song that the twenty-four elders sing to our God, and we echoed that song in our hearts as we saw dramatic scenery that revealed His creative power like we have seldom seen. Some examples are the Red Canyon outside Richfield, Utah.

In Indiana we saw the Wabash and Mississinewa Rivers and spent time finding and admiring the Seven Pillars on the river.

And in Wyoming we saw the Grand Tetons looming over the highway, glorious with their snow covered peaks even in the heat of July.

And in Yellowstone, the geyser basins were the source of incredible beauty. The orange surrounding the cobalt blue boiling water is bacteria which thrives in this environment. Watch where you walk, though … the water in these “ponds” is way hotter than the boiling point of water and the ground is very thin. Boardwalks are the only safe way to experience these vents in the earth’s crust.

As spectacular as all this is, God was not only seen in the grand and glorious scenery splayed out before us. His providential Hand was experienced first-hand when we were filling the gas tank in the RV in a very small Utah town. A long-distance truck driver who had been following us for some distance came up to us and said one of the rear coach tires was very low, recommending that we add air as soon as possible.

We thanked him for his kindness and, when the tank was full, we went to the back of the station where there was a three-bay mechanic’s shop. The owner came out and looked at the tires, noting that the tread on one was split and four of them were long past their replacement date. (This clearly was something the mechanic in Tennessee should have told us about, but that’s a different story.)

Needless to say, we replaced four of the six tires on the RV and we were on our way, praising our Lord that He was watching out for us, even when we didn’t know we were in danger.

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”

Psalm 143:10

We have always known God cares for us and is guiding us with His Hand. But when you can see His Hand working on your behalf, it is overwhelming. The God who created all this beauty cares about us so much that His immutable love is watching each moment, so that His purpose will be fulfilled in our world and in each of our lives.

Keep your eyes open and see His Hand before you. Read His Word and let His Spirit speak to your heart and mind. Bask in the love that our Lord Jesus has for you … He gave His life as a ransom for you. Praise Him all the day long.

Father, I thank You for the marvelous creation of Your Son. I thank You that You sustain all things with the power of Your Word, and yet You even know the details of my life as it unfolds before me. Forgive me when I forget the power of Your Word and when I act as though I am in control. Take my life, Lord, and make it what You want it to be and may the words of Scripture bring forth fruit for Your Kingdom.