Just a few days after graduating high school, my parents and I packed our bags and flew across the country to California, as my graduation present. The last few days of the trip were spent in Yosemite National Park, where we ate lots of pizza, hiked up mountains, and camped in the shadows of enormous granite rocks. On the last full day at the park, we decided to wake up early and hike to the top of Yosemite Falls, one of the most famous hikes at Yosemite. It was three and a half miles up, three and a half down; I didn’t hike mountains regularly, but surely it couldn’t be too difficult.
I was difficult. It took four hours just to reach the top, and then two to descend. the faulty stone pathway zig-zagged up the side of the mountain, and I will admit that I tripped more than once. About one hour from the top, I decided to play some worship music, thinking it might be a good way to get my mind off of the difficult trail. I began stepping in rhythm with the song, sidetracking my mind, and worshipping Jesus on the side of a giant slab of granite.
A song came on as we rounded another corner, and it sang of the beauty, wonder, and power Christ’s name has. I’ve heard this song (What a Beautiful Name) several times, but it never seemed more accurate than it did right then.
“What a powerful name it is…” the song proclaimed, as I rounded a bend and came to see this view.
It overwhelmed me, and gave the song a whole new meaning. What a powerful name it is. God spoke, and this was here. He simply let words fly from His lips, and this overwhelming beauty appeared.
For most of my life, I have seen God as a loving, caring, kind, but perhaps feeble creator. I have not, before that day, recognized His power. He is the exact opposite of feeble; He is powerful, and must do nothing more than speak to create mountains, calm storms, and give us life.
Our God is not feeble as He is sometimes perceived. Our God is full of power.
