The Earth Proclaims His Glory.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

Luke 19:37-40 NIV

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know that the hand of YHWH has done this?  In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

Job 12:7-10

My soul is refreshed after taking off to Utah for five days and getting away from routine, customer service, and social media.  Instead of scrolling Facebook or Pinterest every night, I sat around a lantern with my best friends, found constellations in the sky, and watched as the moon rose over the mountains.  I felt so awake, so aware.  There is so much earth that God created for us to explore, and instead, we get stuck in our tiny corners of the world.  Instead of answering mundane questions about types of lettuce, a ten cent increase on some sort of produce, or why products get discontinued, I was trekking new soil.

The earth was rich and red, and the asphalt laid in the middle of it had no chance at staying black.  The river was beautiful and went on forever, and was kind enough to let us play in it.  The air was sharp and thin and pure.  Tree branches greeted me in the morning as they danced above my tent.  Our feet were never quite clean, but we didn't seem to care.  We laughed until tears brimmed our eyelids, and we contemplated our influence on the world.  We were happy, alive, and free.

As we drove out of the canyon, my eyes welled up with tears as I looked at everything we passed.  I was overwhelmed by the truths of God's being that were silently proclaimed by the rocks, the trees, and the sky.  He knows each one.  He knows the number of stones found on each hillside, their shape and size and kind.  He knows their past and their future and the influence they will have on their surroundings.  He knows the tiniest grains that have chipped off each one as they rolled down the slope.  He holds it all in His hand and He cares for it.  How much more, then, does He care for us?  He loves us.  He knows each one of us.  He knows the number of hairs on our heads, the steps we will take, our shape and size and kind.  He knows our past and our future and the influence we will have on our world.  He knows the tiniest movements we have made throughout our lives.  He holds us all in His hand and He cares for us.  Deeply.

the earth proclaims His glory.