A while back, as my husband and I wound through the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, we drove over McKenzie Pass (In Deschutes National Forest) and encountered a devastating scene of destruction. There had been a volcanic eruption; I never found out when it happened.
Spread out before us were miles upon miles of black, viciously sharp lava rock. Nothing grew among the piles of dark stuff.
We pulled over and I grabbed my camera and carefully scaled a mound of rock to get a better look.
Miles away, I glimpsed several cone-shaped mountains that look liked photos of Mount St Helens before its 1980 eruption.
Farther on down the road the Parks system had erected a kind of monument to the eruption. (That's me walking up a path for a better look at the devastation.)
I thought about the power of nature and a mountain that could literally blow its top and change the look of the entire mountain range.
Not only that, but the eruption might have decimated an entire local population of indigenous people, plus killing thousands of animals and leveling miles of forest.
Now that's power.
Some people worship mountains and the power and majesty that they represent.
But a mountain has no feelings, no compassion, no plan for the inhabitants who rest in its shadow.
A mountain might alter the weather or force a river to change its direction. But the mountain does not listen to the bleating of sheep which feed on its slopes. It cares not a whit that trees shelter on the lee side or that elk and mountain lions drink the snow melt that cascades from its lofty summits.
But God, who made the mountain, does care.
Here's what scripture says about God's power and His loving concern for His creation:
"Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? (Job 38:41)
Does the eagle take flight by your wisdom
and spread his wings toward the south? (Job 39:27)
Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? (Job 39:19)
Who endowed the heart with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind? (Job 38: 36)
Look at the behemoth
which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. (Job 40:15)
The mystery and majesty of God's creation should cause our minds to recognize His power and our mouths to shout His praises!
(All scripture verses are from the NIV Bible)
Spread out before us were miles upon miles of black, viciously sharp lava rock. Nothing grew among the piles of dark stuff.
We pulled over and I grabbed my camera and carefully scaled a mound of rock to get a better look.
Miles away, I glimpsed several cone-shaped mountains that look liked photos of Mount St Helens before its 1980 eruption.
Farther on down the road the Parks system had erected a kind of monument to the eruption. (That's me walking up a path for a better look at the devastation.)
I thought about the power of nature and a mountain that could literally blow its top and change the look of the entire mountain range.
Not only that, but the eruption might have decimated an entire local population of indigenous people, plus killing thousands of animals and leveling miles of forest.
Now that's power.
Some people worship mountains and the power and majesty that they represent.
But a mountain has no feelings, no compassion, no plan for the inhabitants who rest in its shadow.
A mountain might alter the weather or force a river to change its direction. But the mountain does not listen to the bleating of sheep which feed on its slopes. It cares not a whit that trees shelter on the lee side or that elk and mountain lions drink the snow melt that cascades from its lofty summits.
But God, who made the mountain, does care.
Here's what scripture says about God's power and His loving concern for His creation:
"Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? (Job 38:41)
Does the eagle take flight by your wisdom
and spread his wings toward the south? (Job 39:27)
Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? (Job 39:19)
Who endowed the heart with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind? (Job 38: 36)
Look at the behemoth
which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. (Job 40:15)
The mystery and majesty of God's creation should cause our minds to recognize His power and our mouths to shout His praises!
(All scripture verses are from the NIV Bible)
Amen! Unlike man, God cares about ever detail of His creation.
ReplyDeleteGod bless and have a nice day Dena :-)
~Ron
Thanks, Ron. He is so intimate. What a great God!
ReplyDelete