Go On and Scream it from the Mountains!

I remember looking out for miles and seeing black lava rock rolling like waves over the ocean.  It was breathtaking to think how much lava changed the landscape—destroying basically everything in its path.  Beautiful red weeds somehow fought through the lava rock creating one of the most amazing contrasts you could ever see.  I remember God telling me in that moment, "This is a picture that I can restore all things.  Even in the midst of destruction I can bring new life.  Life that stands out and shines despite the complete contrast of the dark circumstances around it."  This is one of those moments the Spirit was revealing to me what Psalm 19 tells us:

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." Vs. 1-4a

God has been reminding me the past couple of months that the heavens declare His glory.  Time and time again I see Him and experience Him in His creation.  The sky is proclaiming His handiwork.  He constantly takes my breath away when I see an awesome sunset, feel the wind pulling a sailboat across His sparkling body of water that seems to go on forever, or cliff jump into a flowing river right next to a waterfall.  He is everywhere if we would just open our eyes.  And His creation is declaring—proclaiming—screaming of His goodness.

Then He reminded me of the creation of man in Genesis 1:26-27:

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

Whoa.  We were not only created in His image, but we were also given dominion over all the earth and every creeping thing. 

This thought has been a smack to the face lately and here's why: the heavens are obviously, awesomely, unabatedly declaring God's glory and goodness—but the heavens weren't created in His likeness.  I was.  We were.  Are we truly declaring?

Picture the most amazing sunset you have ever seen.  The colors, the clouds, the landscape, maybe the company you shared.  I can guarantee it's a memory that warms you.  Have you been proclaiming God's handiwork enough to say that you can compare to that sunset?  Because if I'm being honest I don't think I can say that I have been.  It almost feels like a dare now. 

I see sparkling snowflakes drifting to a still earth and I hear the challenge.  I feel the sun shining down cutting through the cold and again I feel the pull of a dare.   You are created in the Almighty's image—are you proclaiming His glory the way the earth is?  Are you allowing the very thing you've been given dominion over to "out-declare” your Father's goodness?  Wake up!  Don't worry about explanation—just declare and His Spirit will give you any explanation you may need.

But what about when times get hard?  Can I, can we, still declare?  Can we still proclaim?

The Spirit had an answer to that thought too in Matthew 27:45-54:

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'  And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, 'This man is calling Elijah,'  And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, 'Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.'  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'"

The earth shook, the rocks split.  It was the darkest day as Jesus yielded up His spirit and the earth literally broke.  And the people were filled with awe. 

Romans 8:19-22 reminds us:

"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now."

Creation wasn't intended to break.  Natural disasters are not a part of earth's eternal future.  God has an overarching plan to restore not only us, but His creation from the destruction that our sin brought into the world.  But catch this: it's not only in the breathtaking sunsets, the flowing waterfalls, or the stars that seem to stretch on forever that the heavens declare the glory of the Lord.  

Even in the rocks splitting and the earthshaking, creation is screaming of God's goodness!  Even on the darkest day the centurion and the others felt the weight of what had happened as the temple curtain tore and the earth had a visceral reaction to the King of kings yielding up His very spirit as a means to redeem the very thing—the very people—that were/are broken. 

Again, whoa.

If the earth can proclaim, declare, and even celebrate through the brokenness how much more should we be able to do that as children that were created in our Father's likeness?

Romans 8 goes on to say in verses 23-28:

"And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved.  Now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

It's an understatement to say that I have been challenged by this thought of how the heavens declare His glory, but I find rest in knowing that His almighty Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.  As we learn and grow in declaring His glory to others, He is interceding for us right now. 

God, I just want to declare your glory in every moment.  There are days it feels like my heart is splitting just as the earth has—and I want to proclaim Your faithfulness.  There are days that joy pours out like a waterfall flooding over the lip of a cliff and I want to declare Your glory!  Thank you for this challenge—this kind of dare.  YOU ARE GOOD.  You are so good, and I declare it.  I proclaim it. 

In Jesus' name,

Amen.