Anyone who knows me knows that I love the mountains. And I mean LOVE! I have always wanted to live in the mountains. There was a brief period of one year when I was privileged to live in Chimney Rock, NC, while attending Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute (now College) as a student, and I cherished every moment of that time in my life.

But now, I LIVE in the mountains. I get to wake up every morning, look outside, and enjoy the majestic beauty of the mountains of eastern Tennessee. As I told someone just the other day, before moving here I was privileged to drive to the mountains to teach at Fruitland Bible College, but now I have the even greater privilege of driving through the mountains to arrive at that beautiful campus.

I will never tire of gazing upon the unbelievable beauty of these mountains. Teresa and I have been so blessed through the years of our marriage to travel to many different places in the United States. We have seen mountains and flatlands, oceans and lakes, canyons and cliffs, painted deserts and underground caverns, thunderous waterfalls and tranquil streams. Every different place has its own beauty, its own special majesty and grandeur.

As I enjoy the vistas and the valleys of the mountains, and look through picture albums of trips we have taken to other places, I am reminded of the creativity of our great God. I suppose had He chosen to do so, He could have created a world that was rather bland and boring. He could have created the earth with no variety in landscape. He could have created the earth with no mountains, no deserts, no lakes, no canyons, no waterfalls, no – well, nothing.

But He chose to give us a planet of endless beauty. He gave us a planet to enjoy, to experience, to explore. We have so much to see, so many different landscapes to cause us to marvel at His indescribable creative activity.

But more than that, He gave us a planet which should lead the human heart into a spirit of thanksgiving and praise for allowing us to experience His amazing creativity. It is a testimony that should bring us to a state of awe and wonder as we worship the Creator of this amazing creation we call earth. Listen to the words of the psalmist found in Psalm 19:1-4:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.

It is abundantly clear from those words that the psalmist understood and underlying, foundational fact: everywhere we look we see a testimony of God. So, why not make it a habit of praising Him for His creation. No, we are not to worship the creation, but the One who created it.

So, based on this simple yet profound truth, let me encourage each of us to develop the habit of really seeing Him everywhere, and worship Him for His wonderful gift to us: the gift of His tremendous work of creation. And, let that knowledge lead us into a deeper state of worship and awe of the one true God.