God Speaks Loudly in the Mountains

I sat with my feet stretched out in front of me, my forearms resting against the rocky ground.  The sun was setting and the darkness was coming, accompanied by the cool mountain breeze.  The stars began to light the sky, first one at a time, and then like a swarm of a million fireflies, flashing and dancing to the rhythm of the rustling leaves and flowing river. 

I stood up and silently made my way to the edge of the lookout area, being careful not to disturb the silence that had fallen over the others in our group.  The trees, which had seemed so large from the base of the mountain, now appeared to be bushes beneath my feet.  Again, I placed myself at the edge of the cliff and rested my arms on the guardrail.  I took a deep breath and began taking pictures in my mind to be certain that I never lost the beauty I was seeing or the peace I was experiencing.

Around me sat forty or so other students from my church youth group, all completely silent.  What was it about this place that could quiet even the most restless, sometimes obnoxious, teenagers?

Were we just exhausted from a full day of travel?  We had driven hours upon hours in tight vans where we got very little sleep; considering the fact that most of the young men were now running on Mountain Dew and licorice ropes alone, travel coma could be a valid argument. 

Although it is an idea worth considering, as I have reflected on this night from the summer after my freshmen year of high school, I have come to a different conclusion:

God speaks loudly in the mountains 

and when God speaks loudly, we tend to listen.

Psalm 19:1-4 says,

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

 the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
    

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.”

I remember sitting atop that mountain and thinking to myself, “who wouldn’t love this view?” 

Is there anyone who does not experience a moment of awe when they look out over a spanning landscape?  I have yet to meet a person that despises the natural wonders of the earth; everyone seems to have an opinion on the manmade, the latest iPhone, newest cars, even politics, but it seems that we are all in agreement about the beauty of a waterfall or the sunset.  This mutual appreciation binds every human using no words or speech.

We were all made to be in awe of the sunset.  We were made to be in awe of the mountains.  We were made to experience peace when sitting in silence amongst the trees, breathing in the crisp winds, admiring rivers that trail far into the distance.  This appreciation goes deep into our wiring as human beings.  It is so compelling that it causes even the most restless of teenagers to stop dead in their tracks.

“The Heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

God’s works call us back to Him.  They bind us together.  The beauty that I saw from the top of that mountain left me in awe because I realized, for the first time, that nature is an incredible reflection of God’s glory and majesty.  The perfection and vastness of the views left me speechless because God’s beauty was so evident. 

As humans, we have an innate appreciation for the wonders of the world; we are wired to see the things of God and be in awe, glorifying Him.  The skies proclaim his wonders without using any words or speech, yet we quiet ourselves to listen.

God speaks loudly in the mountains.