Keep on 'Roaring'

      “He makes the winds His messengers!…” —Psalm 104:4, NIV

JOURNAL ENTRY 1/5/17: Wind gusts this morning are making the house shake. Is it a coincidence that today’s reading is Psalm 8? “O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth!” As I keep reading, the wind acts as a soundtrack; it keeps coming in waves, at times almost shouting like a stadium crowd. The pine trees bow and dance, oak branches are applauding wildly, and the poplars are getting so carried away in the goodness of the declaration that some of what was dead and decaying and weighing them down begins to fall to the ground.

Selah.

All of creation seems to be roaring its approval of this grand psalmist declaration. But as I read on, maybe that is not the only reason why…

"When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—

    on the moon, stars, and all You have made,

I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—

    sons and daughters of men—

    specks of dust floating about the cosmos.

But You placed the son of man just beneath God

    and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor…”

(Psalm 8:3-5, The Voice)

O LORD our LORD!...So unparalleled in majesty, yet also consumed with love for mankind—for me, and for the people next door, my family and friends—that He would choose to come down and move into my neighborhood, my home, and occupy quite comfortably in my space, as not only Savior but friend like none other. No wonder the winds roar in joy and amazement! Here is a picture, complete with sound effects and right before my very eyes, of what the furious love of my Father must look like: Not angry furious, but relentless and tireless with Love energy and intensity in His pursuit of the ones He created.

Are there even words for that? Which, may explain the wind...

And as quickly as it began, relative calm. A typical routine winter morning settles in, with lots of clouds and an occasional cold breeze causing the pines to still sway a bit and the hardwoods to maybe snap their fingers instead of going nuts. Is that it? Is that all? Or, maybe another great picture, complete with sound effects right before my very eyes:

When there’s no roaring excitement to get caught up in, no crowds shouting encouragement, follow the lead of the pines and hardwoods—and for that matter, all of Heaven itself—and keep on praising anyway, breathing in and breathing out joy and amazement and wonder...even and especially on those typical routine winter, and spring, and summer, and autumn mornings when there very well might be more clouds than sunshine on your to-do list, in your mood and in your life circumstances. 

Doing the tree-swaying thing is for His glory, for sure, but it's also for our joy and strength, even when ours feels like the only voice. Simply because, as you know already but forget in the stress of the moment and all Creation has just reminded you…

“Let them neglect Thy glory, Lord

Who never knew Thy grace,

But our loud songs shall still record

The wonders of Thy praise!

We raise our shouts, O God, to Thee,

And send them to Thy Throne,

All glory to the united Three

The undivided One!

’Twas He—and we’ll adore His Name—

That formed us by a word;

’Tis He restores our ruined frame—

Salvation to the Lord!”

—Isaac Watts, “Hymn 35” (no known melody)

O LORD, our LORD!....

"I love the intensity of the Psalms. No one ever sounds bored about God or about life." — Matt Redman