God's Beauty in Contrast to Man's Fallen State

 

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. (Psalm 107:1-7 ESV).

 

While taking the Roaring Fork Motor Trail in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Mary and I came to an overlook that gave us an incredible view of the Smokies. Just off the paved area I found a path that I thought would lead to an even better view. As you can see from the picture of the trail I’ve attached, it was well worn and only slightly uphill. I walked along the path for a few minutes and realized the “light ahead” was merely a tease to keep me going. In fact, the further I traveled the denser the foliage became. There was no view at all. I recognized the beauty of the trees and undergrowth, however, it was “ugly” compared to the vista at the pull-off. The designers of the road saw to it that the best was reserved for the pull-off, not the path chosen by a few travelers who thought they knew better than the designers.

 

One way to understand the beauty that God created is to understand its opposite. God is the ultimate “Designer.” Consequently, we were travel away from His design we experience the ugliness and sorrow of being separated from God. This is true of the world in general. Because of our sin, this world is not the way it ought to be. Sin has brought hardship and ugliness into our lives and into this world, though God designed it all to be beautiful.

 

We know that God has restoration in mind because we don’t feel “at home” in a world broken because of sin. We are homesick for a world of peace and beauty. We are homesick to be with God. When we’re stuck in brokenness and facing the ugliness of this world of sin, we feel homesick for God’s world of goodness and beauty. Our reading today points out the sorrow and longing of this homesickness. The world can feel like a endless path, providing no place where people can rest, no place where they can settle and be at peace. But the Lord, whose “love endures forever,” offers redemption. The Lord hears his people cry out in their trouble caused by sin, and he delivers them from distress. God brings them to a place where they can settle and live in peace. “He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

 

If you find yourself stuck on this uphill path that seems to lead you deeper into the dense trees and underbrush of sin, turn around and find the Lord standing there, waiting for you to come back into His design. Jesus has left us, though often we strike out on our own in stubborn independence that leads to destruction. Come on back to the pull-off! He put it there for you!