Therefore stand in awe of God. — Ecclesiastes 5:7
How do I convey this? Do I tell you about a June morning in 1977 when I stood shivering at the top of a cliff and looked down at people picking apples a mile below me in ninety-degree heat while off in the distance a blizzard was raging in the high Cascades? Do I try to describe a cold December night when I looked straight up with nothing between me and stars so far away there is no way the human mind can comprehend the distance?
One day I stopped on a nature trail, transfixed by what I cannot describe. A couple walked by — I believe these were people who like to categorize and name plants and animals. They asked me what I was looking at.
"The glory of God," I said.
Okay, it was a lunatic response. I admit it. But I can’t reduce everything to something I can name or explain. I can’t reduce everything, but some things reduce me.
Remember the Challenger disaster? Remember after the space shuttle exploded a voice continued to report the progress of the craft as though nothing had happened? Remember how incongruent that voice seemed in the weight of that terrible moment?
I was telling a friend about some of the troubles I’ve had in the last couple years. But as I told her, I found myself smiling. Almost laughing. I said, "It’s been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t trade it."
A wild ride. That’s what’s it’s like to hang out with God. Everything He does is so beyond us. With Him, we walk right up to the face of death. There He takes off death’s mask, and we discover life beyond measure.
No, there aren’t any words to convey this. But maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.