O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
How Great Thou Art
By: Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940)
Listen to this awesome electric guitar version as you read. And be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.
The glory of God is ever on display around us, but often we simply fail to take the time to acknowledge it. I pray today’s blog helps you carve our a few minutes to cultivate a greater awareness of the greatness of our God. That’s why Resonant 7 exists. May He give your the perspective you need to see, hear and feel His power on display all around you today. Let’s think about this.
Seeing the Stars
Just seeing the stars is not enough. Many look into the night sky and quickly realize just how small they are. But fewer see beyond their stature and gaze into the grandeur of our God.
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. Psalm 147:4-5 ESV
The Psalmist saw the stars, and in them something more. One paraphrase of Psalm 8 says, “When I gaze in to the night skies and see the work of your fingers, the moon and stars suspended in space, o what is man that your are mindful of Him?” Our smallness makes sense against the backdrop of God and His glory, but making sense is not enough.
We must choose to respond to this greatness revealed.
I want to point you to someone who has done that for some time, and in some very creative ways. Louie Giglio has long been a proponent of calling people to respond to God’s greatness. As significant person in the Passion movement, he has influenced many people to offer their worship to the One who is worthy. In the clip below, he describes some the response of the stars and other parts of creation which not only display God’s glory, but respond to it in their own ways.
This clip is 9 minutes long and climaxes in a crafted response of worship that is truly unique. You may not have time to view it all right now, but I would encourage you to carve out 9 minutes today to have your awareness of God’s greatness stirred in an unusual way.
You see, we not only see God’s power displayed, we hear it as well. We will consider some other aspects of that in the next stanza, but for now let’s consider for a bit the sound, and the feel, of thunder.
Feel the Thunder
Again to the Psalmist.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Psalm 77:18 ESV
Thunder is a remarkable demonstration of the power of our God which we can feel. It flows from the lightning which we can see. According to the Library of Congress, “Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the path of a lightning bolt.” Another interesting article explaining this with a few pictures can be found here, courtesy of the National Weather Service.
Think for a moment of a memory of some powerful storm. Maybe you have seen up close the damage that a bolt of lightning can do. You have probably at one time or another not only heard thunder, but felt it.
In the face of that demonstration of power, do you recall our you felt. Was it awe? Terror? Ambivalence? Did you notice in the Scripture the natural response of the earth? It trembled and shook. If the earth trembles and shakes at something, we should probably take notice and either be cautious, or worship, or both. It really is not enough to simply hear and feel the thunder, we should respond to it for what it is.
Ask Him to fill you with a reverence similar to that which the earth demonstrates. The earth has no choice. You do. Choose to worship the greatness of our God.
Everywhere You Look
Stars and thunder…just a couple examples of different things in our universe which display the power of God. Frankly, everywhere you look His glory is revealed. If you have read this far it is likely because you know it is only by His grace that you can see, hear and feel any of this for what it truly is.
Think about that.
There are millions, even billions of people walking around unaware that everywhere they look God is revealing Himself. Through a trillion stars in the sky, and then some, and countless storms raging, but many fail to comprehend the One behind it all.
First, give God praise for helping you see His power, and giving you the grace to respond. Second, ask Him to help you assist others to develop ears to hear and eyes to see the greatness of our God.
Jesus, thank You for revealing Your power to me and helping me respond to me. I am in awe of You. May I live a life of awesome wonder, always considering all that You have made, but never keeping it to myself. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Awe-ful Thinking!
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Enjoy this podcast and the transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures shared.
Podcast 10.1 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Exodus 15:11 ESV
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
I like rhetorical questions. You know, those ones where everyone knows the answer. Only, not everyone knows the answer here. Who is like our Lord? No one. If you know that answer, thank Him, and let that privilege fill you with wonder.
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
Nehemiah 9:6 ESV
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
That is a pretty comprehensive description of what He has made. In short, everything. Our time here does not permit us to consider it all, but simply ponder this. He made it and preserves it and invites you to join worship.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Psalm 77:18 ESV
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
Thunder is a remarkable demonstration of the power of our God which we can feel, flowing from the lightning which we can see. Ask Him to fill you with a reverence similar to that which the earth models.
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Psalm 147:4-5 ESV
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
The stars in every universe numbered and named. Order beyond comprehension. Power unfathomable. Greatness unsearchable. Give glory to our great God for the way He reveals Himself in His creation!
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, be Resonant.
Image Attributions
The Stars – https://pixabay.com/photos/universe-galaxy-space-atmosphere-2250310/
Rolling Thunder – https://giphy.com/gifs/storm-timelapse-qRY3cPYRkyQh2
The Universe – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/universe-sky-star-space-cosmos-2742113/
Oh Lord my God the stars and whales can’t keep your glory to themselves so why do I? How majestic is thy name in ALL the earth! My heart will sing no other name but yours! How GREAT Thou art!
*Thank you Scott for your gift to the kingdom and reminding us to resonate in the glory and goodness of God!