Monday, August 25, 2008

A Symphony of Praise

When I was in elementary school, my teacher conducted an experiment with our class. She asked us to listen to every sound we could possibly hear in the classroom. As we sat and listened, we could hear airplanes flying over, people walking down the hall, the buzz of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, etc. The teacher finally asked us to list the things we heard during the experiment. While the class listened for all of the sounds in the room, no one seemed to notice the teacher scribbling on a piece of paper with her pencil. She explained that no one heard her scribbling because of "noise pollution". All of the other noises we heard were much louder than her scribbling pencil. The object of the lesson was for us to realize that there are sounds happening all around us that we may never hear.

Every now and then, I am reminded of this experiment, and I begin to listen for sounds that I don't usually notice. There is an entire symphony of praise that God orchestrates every day. He pulls the curtain open each morning to a beautiful sunrise. The rhythm of nature is expressed in the wind trickling through the leaves on the trees, the crashing of waves against the shore, and the drops of rain on giant leaves in the rain-forest. Choruses of living creatures give praise to the Lord as whales moan, crickets chirp, mockingbirds sing, and bears growl. Thunder echoes through time and space, as the great timpani of heaven awakens us to the Majesty of our God.

Luke 19:40 tells us, if we keep quiet, the rocks will still cry out in praise to God. Not only will the rocks praise Him, but every living creature will orchestrate a glorious symphony of praise to the Creator of heaven and earth. Thank you, God for Your awesome creation that daily demonstrates for us how to worship You. May we never keep silent, but let us join with all creation in this symphony of praise!

No comments: