So, I went for a walk in Aldergrove Lake Park yesterday, and spent a few hours sitting on top of Big Rock thinking, daydreaming, and reading my Bible. For those that don’t know, Big Rock is, litterally, a big rock, about 15-20 feet tall, 30-40 feet wide, sitting in the woods just off Lefevure Rd. You can climb up on top without much difficulty, and it’s pretty peaceful, even though you’re right next to a road (not a lot of traffic). On a nice day, a few horses will travel by with their riders every so often too. Anyway, I’m out there doing the ‘be still and know’ thing with God, and I started thinking about creation, God’s work, that sort of thing. And I finally put my finger on something that I’ve known for a long time, but couldn’t quite articulate.
God’s creation, nature, it’s power and magestic qualities, they obviously bring a peace and a centering on God, and being still amongst such things is really good to do. But I think we’ve put this way of connecting with God so high on our list of ways to do so, we’re actually missing something bigger, something most people would consider the opposite. See, when I look at the forest, listen to the wind and the small animals moving around, feel the stillness of it all, I know that God can make all of that. In fact, it strikes me as something on the easy side for Him. When I look at people though, the meshing of our free will with His will and plan, when I see Him take the chaos that humans create and thrive on and work the most miniscule detail of a single person’s life that then causes that person to change utterly and completely into something more than they were, and in turn changes the lives of all those around them or even the entire world…that is where I see unfathomable power and wisdom. That is where I see the majesty.
Not to downplay nature and stillness and all that, we are still commanded to be still, and I love doing so. But we are also commanded to be in fellowship, along with many other more interactive tasks that God has laid out for our walks with Him. I think we just forget to look for Him in all things sometimes, instead of just where we expect to see Him. We are to see Him in one another as well, and in seeing that, love one another, for in loving each other we love Him.
