Then hear thou from the heavens, [even] from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. (2 Chr 6:39)
Scott Moody is an old friend from high school. When I read his "note" yesterday, it asked for his permission to use it today. God speaks to us in many ways, sometimes through the words of others...
Your God Place (by Scott Moody)
The other day I was having lunch with a friend and our conversation turned to Bible study. As it turns out, a Bible study he joined a few years ago included a former astronaut. At one of their meetings, my friend asked him what it was like up in space, to be able to look out into space and to see so many more stars than we could back here on earth. Now we are talking about a man of science, highly educated and disciplined in his thinking and yet his response was, “It makes you believe in God”. He did not speak about the composition of the various planets, the distances to the stars or the big bang theory, but simply in that the vastness and beauty of space, so little of which we still know or understand, it was impossible not to see God’s hand. To believe.
Upon reflecting on this later, I thought of space being the astronaut’s God Place. I have one too, although mine’s a lot easier to get to.
Almost every morning I start my day at the beach, reading and studying (and always with my cup of Starbucks!). I love the beach in the morning. It’s nice and cool, the waves drum out the sounds of the rest of the world and most importantly, I’m able to look out at the magnificence before me. It’s like gazing up at the Sistine chapel and seeing the beauty and creativity of Michelangelo’s work for the first time and yet being able to do just that – anew and for the first time – each and every day. One day the waves are big, attracting surfers before they head into work and yet the next day, the ocean can be as still as a lake, the dolphins trading places with the surfers. One day the sand is full of seaweed and the drop-off sharp, the next day the sand can be wind swept and as smooth and sweeping as a rose petal. One day the sun peeks over the horizon as if some giant orange ball, the next day only its rays are visible as they stream down to the water’s edge. And one day the beach is alive with wildlife and the next, all you can see are the tracks of a turtle as she made her way back into the ocean after laying her eggs the night before. Each day is so totally different and each day I sit there and simply give thanks to the Lord for painting such a beautiful picture for me today. And I can’t help but know there is a God.
Each of us needs to find that God Place. It might be in space or on the beach, but it also might be sitting by a lake, peering out from atop a mountain or watching the sunset over a river. Or it might be simply looking at a baby sleeping or children playing at the park. Life’s a zoo, it’s easy to get caught up in our every day challenges and lose sight of what is important.
We all need a God Place.
