The Sky Is Talking

Taken from the Live Like You Are Dying Daily Readings ... Week 1; Day 4

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  (Psalm 19:1-3)

Shhh ... Listen ... Hear that?  It's the sky talking.  And what's it saying?  All kinds of stuff about God and everything he's made.  It never stops.  It's a praise song always playing, but we've gotten used to ignoring it.  There is communication and knowledge bound up in the sky, the clouds, and the stars -- it's streaming all over the planet 24/7 -- and we can learn to tap into it.

God's presence through his creation is something we have probably all felt at one time or another.  It might have been a golden sunset, the power of the crashing surf, the wind in the high-mountain trees, or the beauty of a crisp fall morning.  Sometimes, it can be so overwhelming you don't know what to do with yourself.  But these are usually moments that take us by surprise.  We didn't plan on it; the moment captivated us while we were on the way to some-where else.

If you only had a month to live, chances are you would make time to go where you could hear from God through what he has made.  Be intentional.  Turn the sunset into an event.  Take an eveing walk with God.  make plans to see natural wonders you've always wanted to see.  Take a hike into the wilderness.  Walk through a garden.  Sit out under the stars one night.

The important thing when you do any of this is to make sure you have plenty of time to just sit and be still.  Let everything fade out except what the heavens are declaring.  What do you hear?  What is God saying about himself through his creation?  You have to train yourself to do this.  You may not hear anything at first, but don't give up.  You have to get used to the silence before you can start to pick up anything.  And it's best to do this alone.  If you're with others, take off by yourself for a while so you can go at your own pace.

I'm a backpacker, myself, and I notice when I pack into the wilderness with my kids or a friend, the further in we go, the less we seem to talk.  Something takes over that makes talk seem cheap - like we're desecrating something sacred.  We probably are.  We are interrupting the holy dialogue.  God was saying something.  Hush ... now, where were we?

"It is not the number of breaths you take; rather, it is the number of moments that take your breath away that really matter."

Thought provoking questions -
1.  Where and how do you best hear from God?
2.  Make a plan to go to a place where you can spend some uninterrupted time with God.  be sure to allow time to listen, look and linger.
3.  If you only had days to live, what would you want to hear from God?  What would you want to ask Him?