Have you ever just stood there and taken the time to watch nature unfold around you? Those times when you just sit at the window and watch the rain outside. Or you take in the rays of sunshine on a hot summer day, feeling the breeze. Or you're in the mountains, next to a river, hearing the water rush past you, the birds chirping from the trees. It's times like these that I feel closest to my Heavenly Father. Watching His creation, feeling the power. I had one of these moments a few weeks ago in San Luis, Argentina. We got to watch a lightning storm unfold. We could see the lightning shooting through the clouds, hear the thunder, the great winds howling around us. It was incredible. It was like watching God show off His power, entertaining us with it. He never does it in a proud way, though. He's always humble. He shows us His glory and power to say, "Look, I am real. This is who I am. How can you deny that I exist?"
It's also times like these that I feel so small and insignificant… Yet, not. I feel small, but I also feel seen. Acknowledged. Loved. It reminds me that the power He is showing us right now, we have that same power within us. The Holy Spirit is inside of us, moving in our hearts, using our words and actions to change ourselves and others. It's times like these that I feel found. Captured. I'm enthralled with who He is.
It's these moments that I never want to leave. I wish I could live in these moments forever.
I love how nature brings us closer to God. It's always singing praises to Him, and when we are in the midst of it, even though our human ears cannot hear the praise, the Holy Spirit inside of us can, and he transmits this to our spirit. He is the median between us and God. He wants us to find ourselves in Him. He wants us to praise Him. Be close to Him. Love Him. Have a relationship with Him. And this is just one of the great and powerful ways that He does it.
(For those reading this from an email subscription, there is a video on the official blog site, but it doesn't send with the email. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4nN8P6I-EM)
Psalm 100 (NLT)
"Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise."
