Hello friends, welcome to Embolden. I'm Chris Shatter, an ordinary Christian living with and learning about an extraordinary God. Today is day 10 on the Embolden Podcast of Giving 30 Days of Glory to God, and we're inspired today by Exodus 1511. Who among the gods is like you, Lord?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? And my prayer today is very short and simple. Wow, God. Just wow.
Amen. A few weeks ago I was traveling across the country by plane, and my headphones were plugged in, and my video played loud enough so I wouldn't hear anyone around me. I had my snacks all laid out, and my drink delivered. I was set up in my little bubble.
We were heading west, chasing the falling sun. About halfway on my journey, my eyes took a break from my iPad screen to look out the window, and I expected to see sort of a muted landscape below flying by without much interest. Instead, I was treated to the glory of God. You see, we found ourselves skimming along the tops of a blanket of cotton.
Fluffy white clouds just below our plane for as far as your eyes could see. And because we were so close it made our airspeed more obvious. As my eyes adjusted to this phenomenon, I could almost feel the weight pressed me back against my seat like I was on a roller coaster. But we floated.
Yes, that's what it felt like. Floating through the heavens. Some unseen force was blowing us across the sky, skimming the cotton fields. And the majesty of God was present in all his glory.
Genesis 1-1 reminds us, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. You know, as I sat there watching those clouds fly beneath us, I couldn't help but smile and thank God for such beauty. It felt as though I could just reach through the window and I touched the Father. I can't explain why exactly it felt different than other times I've seen clouds from a plane.
But it seemed as though God was putting on a show for us. You know, there wasn't a beautiful sunset. There was no purple and rose sky. Just white clouds slightly below us and blue sky above.
And all I could say was, wow. At that moment, I realized the huge difference between believers and those who refused to acknowledge that everything in our lives has been created. They could look out the window and think, hey, that's really pretty. But I looked out the window and said, wow, what a cool thing you have done.
I mean, imagine walking up to the painting masterpiece by Piero de la Francesca. It's called the Resurrection and the most beautiful painting in the world. That's what Aldous Huxley, the famous author, called it. So imagine walking up to that and saying, hey, that's kind of pretty.
It must have happened by accident. Some cosmic dust or something. Like maybe there was a canvas and some people kind of fell from a window and people accidentally stepped on it and wore off. A painting is made.
There'd be no credit to the master painter. No recognition of his ability or desire to create something beautiful for the world to see. But friends, there is always a creator. And God is the ultimate creator.
Our recognition of that fact brings an awe and sighing sunset into clearer view. It allows us to see the Grand Canyon from a new perspective. In that brief encounter I had on the plane that late afternoon with God's glory and creation almost brought me to tears of joy. Knowing he loves making beautiful things, whether we are present to see them or not.
Have a beautiful day. I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Embolden Podcast. Be sure to follow along so you don't miss any episode. And check out my blog at Embolden.net.