Our Wyoming landscape is rugged, wild and beautiful. For us Casperites, part of the beauty is the mountain – Casper Mountain. I have lived in this town for over 50 years and I never get tired of our mountain. I study the mountain because it reminds me that God is big enough to keep all life on track and yet personal, close enough to see the tears of his people.
The sheer beauty of our mountain stuns me every day. Our family went there for Father’s Day and as we drove through the cabin I marveled at how the evergreens seemed to effortlessly reach for the sky and how the aspens seemed to politely applaud our journey. The June wildflowers eagerly faced west, as if they felt their days were numbered.
The fresh air was soothing to my face and the calm balm to my soul.
Like you, I can’t be up there as much as I would like, but even now, when we look at the mountain, God’s constant sovereignty is on full display. As is the case every day, in every season of every year.
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As we watch the sun rise and set and the shadows fall on the face of the mountain, God shows his undeniable power and perfect precision. He constantly reminds us of his deep concern for all creation and his artistic flair for the incredible.
The deeply respected monk and poet Thomas Merton wrote it this way: “We live in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God shines through it all the time. If we surrender to God and forget ourselves, we see it sometimes, and we see it perhaps… frequently. God shows himself everywhere, in everything — in people and in things and in nature and in events. It becomes very evident that God is everywhere and in everything and we cannot be without Him. It’s impossible. The only thing is that we don’t see it.
It’s true sometimes we don’t see it. Sometimes we lose sight of his kindness and abundant provision. Sometimes we are so busy, so myopic, that we forget to even glance in his direction. Yet he is still, like the mountain, standing there waiting.
We cannot be without Him.
God is everywhere, all the time, breathing life into each of us. The varying hues of our summer flowers and the white cotton ball-like clouds moving across the sky have God’s DNA written all over it.
When the birds sing songs to each other, when the winds blow through the tall trees, when the ants don’t turn away, I see it and marvel at the God who is everywhere, always.
He is present, he is beautiful, he is powerful. We can’t stop his presence, or remove him, or insist that he doesn’t care.
Like our mountain, God will not be shaken.
So if today you need a little help, a little wisdom, a little respite, I encourage you to “lift your eyes to the mountain” and remember that God is the. The creator of all you can see or feel is your provider and protector. He never sleeps and is always present.
Forget yourself for a moment, abandon yourself to God, and you will be satisfied.
Larry and Linda Kloster sponsor this column.