The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalm 19:1
Rebecca and I have never had the opportunity to do very much travelling, so in late August of 2013, when we set out for a trip to the Grand Canyon to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary, we were beyond excited. Months of scrimping, saving, and preparation were about to pay off with, what we hoped would be, an adventure of a lifetime. On August 25 we flew into Phoenix, rented a car at the airport, and headed north for what should have been a 3 1/2 hour drive to the cabin we had reserved at Grand Canyon National Park. The next day would be the date of our anniversary, August 26. Since the early stages of our vacation planning, it had been our intent to begin that day by rising early to catch a predawn shuttle to one of the popular park overlooks and settle in to watch the sun rise over the canyon, a sight that is reported to be breathtaking.
It was a great day for a drive through central Arizona – pleasant and partly cloudy, good visibility, dry roads. Being understandably eager to arrive at our destination, I got into my NASCAR groove and made a gallant attempt to reduce our drive time to less than three hours. My effort was soon thwarted by a very nice young Arizona State trooper, who graciously wrote out a ticket for 10 mph less than the speed at which he had clocked me so that he would not have to arrest me for felony speeding. (Who knew speeding could be a felony?) By the time we finally arrived at the park the sun had gone down, the weather had turned cold and rainy, and I was $300 poorer. Our much-anticipated vacation was not beginning well.
Early the next morning it was still cold and drizzly. Undeterred from our mission, though somewhat tempered in spirit, we donned our rain gear and headed out to catch the early morning sunrise shuttle. If anything, the weather had worsened overnight. Our shuttle driver informed us that the canyon was “socked in” with clouds and that we would be unlikely to see anything. There was only a handful of people gathered at the normally crowded viewing area – vague, shadowy figures enveloped in darkness and thick mist. Muffled voices speaking with harsh, guttural consonants betrayed their identity as German tourists. I could sense from the eerie, hollow-sounding howl of the wind that there was a huge, gaping hole in front of the place where we stood, but as the pitch black predawn darkness transitioned to a dull gray, it became evident that the only thing we were going to see that morning were the tops of the swirling clouds that had mistaken the canyon for sky.
Once it became apparent that the sun, though still heavily veiled, had indeed risen and that gray cloud tops would be the only scenery we could expect to see that day, our initial hopeful anticipation gave way to silent disappointment. Yet, for some reason, my wife and I lingered, walking back and forth along the open rim of the canyon, hoping for a memorable glimpse of anything that was not a cloud. Still, the landscape remained hidden, as if asleep beneath a dense shroud of heavy fleece. Shuttles came and went, each one delivering small groups of people who stayed only as long as it took for the next shuttle to arrive and ferry them off to the breakfast buffet at the park restaurant. Eventually a shuttle arrived with no passengers to offload and hastily evacuated the last of the early morning sunrise seekers – all except two. Rebecca and I were left alone, standing in the early morning rain along an unfenced 100 foot-long stretch of the fabulous Grand Canyon – staring mournfully at nothing but hazy gray cloud tops.
That is when the scene began to change – swiftly and unexpectedly. One by one thin streaks of sunlight fought their way through the dark, overcast sky. What began as a trickle grew quickly to a torrent of light shafts, widening before our eyes as they traveled to the floor of the deep canyon. Thick billows that had filled the mammoth gouge in the earth’s surface like bubbles in a bathtub began to lift and dissipate. The deep canyon, with its colorful walls and rock formations, abruptly burst into glorious view. Then, with a startling suddenness, a brilliant beam of light streamed through an unseen aperture in the clouds, coming to rest elegantly on a nearby ledge – and within that beam a rainbow appeared, and then a double bow showed itself against the vast splendor of the now-visible canyon. It was a spectacular sight to behold, and there were only two people on the planet who saw it.
As Rebecca and I stood there on the rim of the canyon, transfixed by the magnificent display before us, I reached for my wife’s hand, and she began to cry. We were sharing the same unspoken thought – He did this just for us.
The magnificence of God’s creation is unfathomable. His glory is truly on display in the things He has made for all of mankind to see. To behold the glory of God as it is revealed in nature and natural phenomena can be an extraordinarily moving experience. But here is the thing: in spite of the incredible awe and wonder that God’s creation is capable of evoking, the glory of God as revealed in His physical creation is but a trifle in comparison to the full revelation of all that He is. In Psalm 8 David refers to creation as nothing more than ‘finger-work’ for an almighty God.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. Psalm 8:3
Creating the universe out of nothing was a simple thing for an omnipotent God, but it reveals two very profound truths about Him – His eternal power and His divine nature. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 1 that this partial revelation of His glory – what theologians call ‘general revelation’ – is enough to hold mankind accountable for rejecting the truth about God. Clearly, the manifestation of God’s glory in the wonders of our amazing planet should serve as a provocation for men to seek Him and to know Him more fully. Creation itself – time, space, matter, and energy – presents mankind with a logical first cause proof of the existence of an omnipotent deity – so much so that the manifested reality of our visible, physical universe provides the just ground upon which God will righteously judge unbelieving men.
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:18-20 NLT
Whether it be seen in biology, geology, quantum physics, or even in a Grand Canyon rainbow display intended for just two people, the glory of God’s creation is magnificent and purposeful, yet it does not even scratch the surface of the full revelation of His majesty. Moses became aware of that truth at the age of 80, standing at the top of Mt Sinai, when he made his famous request of God – “I pray You, show me Your glory!” This is a man who not only saw the wonder of God in the natural beauty of creation, but he spoke to God in the burning bush. He witnessed the great miracles of the Egyptian plagues and the Red Sea crossing. Yet he was so certain that there was more to know about God that he prayed: Show me Your glory!
When we consider the incredible beauty and complexity of the universe in which we reside, you and I can rightly say, “He did this just for us!” The ‘finger-work’ of God should cause all of us to desire to seek Him more intentionally and to know Him more fully. Has the wonder of our natural universe provoked you to say, ‘Lord, show me Your glory?’ If so, I can assure you that God has answered that prayer. You just need to know where to look…
Unassailable Gospel 
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