Speaking Skies

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalms 19:1-6)

I have adored this passage of Scripture for years. It serves as a very poetic reminder to recognize the glory of God in all areas of my life, especially through nature. How often I get in a hurry, running out to my car for an appointment without stopping to look up at the sky and hear what it is proclaiming. The birds outside my window desire to remind me of God's amazing glory, but I don't open the window. An evening breeze plays with my hair but I can't stop to listen.

I was reading something John Piper taught on this passage today, and God used these words to penetrate my heart about listening to His silent voice in His creation.

"God means for there to be communication from his mind and heart to our mind and heart, but the medium of communication—the thing that carries the reality from his heart to my heart—is not written words; it's not spoken words. Instead it's light and color and contrast and shape and proportion and design and motion and magnitude, etc. ... Wordless words, speechless speech, voiceless voice. The point is clear: God is pouring forth communication to us through the sky; he is telling and proclaiming and speaking and writing lines and declaring knowledge to everyone who will stop and listen."