What a Wonder You Are

What a Wonder You Are
By Brenda Black

I wonder – Does the Lord who never sleeps wait each morning to dip His finger into the sea. With the color from the coral reef, does He swirl them across dawning horizon with grandiose brush-like sweeps. Or does He set things in motion from the dawn of time, knowing each day ahead of its arrival for a million and beyond. Will every sunrise sky-scape He's designed appear across the vast universe right on time. He is, remember, omniscient. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Or does the God of Wonders commission sun, wind, moon and water each new day to be at the ready. He lets them shine and blow their way into fog, heat, breezes and tempests and watches expectantly. Though He allows the fare and stormy weather to come as circumstances beckon, are they lengthened or averted as man glorifies or cries out in prayer. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;...The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:15, 17)

I wonder - Are the sunsets assigned marching orders so that somewhere in the world each evening one should be so breathtaking as to compel worship for its General. Are twilights bottled somewhere beyond the heavens in a celestial warehouse and delivered on schedule. “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.” (Ps. 50:1) He calls extravagant clouds, blackened downpours and spontaneous rainbows, this artist behind ever-changing heavenly masterpieces that grace our world. Oh, what a wonder you are!

“Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord, my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.

“He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.

“He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

“The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl. The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they steal away; they return to lie down in their dens. Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.

“How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures...I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him as I rejoice in the Lord. But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord.” (Ps. 104:1-25, 33-35)

While we watch the evil loom larger and destruction of a planet perfectly made, may we look to the heavens and find God faithful in all of His ways. His mercies are new every morning and His creative touches are forever before us. To ignore so great a testimony of divine orchestration is simply ignorant and dangerous. “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

One day, the heavens will roll back, the sun and moon and stars will shine no more, for the light of the Holy One will take their place. In that heavenly city, it “does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (Revelation 21:23)

I wonder - Who will you acknowledge then – when you stand before the Master Painter who graced your days with beauty and privilege only to watch man take it for granted and wallow in self-praise. “'Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End...I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David and the bright MORNING STAR.'” (Rev. 22:12-13, 16)

No wonder the sunrise sings His praise. No wonder the sun sets without fear of darkness. No wonder the winds and waters obey. All of nature knows better than man himself – the God of Wonders is worthy of honor and glory every morning, noon and night.