God is Great, Let’s Pay Attention!

A mountain wilderness provides a beautiful place to experience the greatness of God, but we can also experience His greatness in the everyday. This was a view I had on the way to the top two mountain lakes.

[Originally published as How to Experience the Greatness of God]

Do you find it difficult to experience the greatness of God? In our day to day living we seem to get caught up in the mundane, trivial and even the urgent things of life. These things often keep us from experiencing the greatness of God.

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I know that in my life the greatness of God sometimes seems so far away. I get up in the morning, have a short devotional time and then help my wife get the kids ready. I take them to school and then get into the routine of my workday. Where do I find the greatness of God in all of that?

Experiencing God’s Greatness in Creation

Sometimes we need to get away. A trip to Disney World can be fun, but it’s hard to experience the greatness of God there. Instead, my wife and I prefer the mountains. So this summer, our family headed off to the Rockies.

On the trip we hiked, biked, saw the sites and threw snowballs in July. It’s fair to say fun was had by all.

While hiking with a friend we headed up to a series of mountain lakes. The first lake we arrived at was gorgeous. We played in the snow along the shore and even waded in its frigid waters. When standing above this lake and taking in its beauty, the power of God is evident.

The next leg in the hike was just three quarters of mile, but it went up a thousand feet. Not wanting to take on that challenge my wife, her friend and our children decided to head back down. I went on ahead to see two more lakes higher up.

I needed to somewhat race to the top in order to rejoin my family at the bottom. The steep climb and the high elevation put up quite the challenge. Out of breath and invigorated, I made it to the top of the lake in about an hour.

Looking at God’s beauty made my heart rejoice. Overwhelmed by the view, I experienced the power of God around me. I felt His magnificence.

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Experience God’s Greatness Anywhere

A powerful adventure in the mountains such as this can help us experience the greatness of God, but we don’t necessarily need to climb a mountain to experience His greatness. The greatness of God can be experienced closer to home in little things.

We hear it in the sounds of the birds singing, in the chirping of crickets, in the ring of the cicadas or in drops of rain landing on leaves. We hear God’s greatness when we stop and take the time to listen. We can also find the greatness of God in the beauty of flowers and in the pollinators that hum and flutter above them. In these little things we see His greatness when we look with eyes of wonder.

Life brings us a lot of distraction that keep us from experiencing the greatness of God. I think it is good to get away from time to time so that we may experience His greatness. But let us not forget how His greatness resides in even the “simple” things.