Two summers ago, a friend and I took a California road trip. We drove south along a magnificent stretch of the Pacific Coast High between Monterrey, California and Morro Bay. It felt as if we were driving along the edge of the world. Tall, rocky cliffs overlooked the powerful Pacific Ocean. Life was everywhere: birds, seals, whales, massive schools of fish. At one pullover, a man was perched at the edge of a cliff playing huge bongos. I could be smug and think, “that’s California for you,” but deep down, I was a little jealous.
Here was a man who regardless of his theology, didn’t care a bit what others might think. He was responding to all the beauty with his bongos. We are made to respond to the Creator of all this beauty.
And David gets this. We are made to join all of Creation and praise the author of life:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name…
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word. Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Psalm 103:1…19-22.
God understands the language of my heart. I am made to praise him with abandon and yet my words fail me, so I seize hold of Isaiah’s words (taken from Isaiah 43). I audibly thank God for who He is: the Lord, the only Savior, God, Redeemer, the Creator and Holy One of Israel, my King, my Deliverer. He blots out my transgressions. He has the final say in all of history.
How is it that this God invites me to know Him? I praise Him for who I am in relation to Him; I am created for his glory, redeemed by Him, and called by Him. I am his possession, precious in his sight, honored and loved by Him. I am his chosen servant and witness.
These words spill over me and fill my heart to almost bursting. I throw my arms upward, breathe deeply and smile. My soul worships and I take joy in his delight.
Lord, keep me from holding back when it comes to worshipping you. Fill my heart and mind with the knowledge of who you are and who you have made me to be. May what you say about who you are and who you say that I am, take precedence over what the world says. May your joy fill my soul.
Klueh
Sixty-six books in a year 