Picture of Lake Atitlan, San Pedro, Guatemala

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

O Lord my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

He wraps himself in light as with a garment;

he stretches out the heavens like a tent

and lays the beams of his upper chambers

on their waters.

He makes the clouds his chariot

and rides on the wings of the wind.

He makes winds his messengers,

flames of fire his servants.

He set the earth on its foundations;

it can never be moved.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

But at your rebuke the waters fled,

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

they flowed over the mountains,

they went down into the valleys,

to the place you assigned for them.

You set a boundary they cannot cross;

never again will they cover the earth.

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;

it flows between the mountains.

They give water to all the beasts of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

The birds of the air nest by the waters;

they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;

the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

He makes grass grow for the cattle,

and plants for man to cultivate--

bringing forth food from the earth:

wine that gladdens the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine,

and bread that sustains his heart.

The trees of the Lord are well watered,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

There the birds make their nests;

the stork has its home in the pine trees.

The high mountains belong to the wild goats;

the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

The moon marks off the seasons,

and the sun knows when to go down.

You bring darkness, it becomes night,

and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they steal away;

they return and lie down in their dens.

Then man goes out to his work,

to his labor until evening.

How many are your works, O Lord!

In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

There is the sea, vast and spacious,

teeming with creatures beyond number--

living things both large and small.

There the ships go to and fro,

and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

These all look to you

to give them their food at the proper time.

When you give it to them,

they gather it up;

when you open your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

When you hide your face,

they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return to dust.

When you send your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works--

he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,

who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

May my meditation be pleasing to him,

as I rejoice in the Lord.

But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Praise the Lord.

-- Psalm 104

Traveling to places like this in Guatemala was like seeing Scripture come alive. To think that those mountains, those clouds, those trees and that lake were made through the wisdom and power of the living God. I rejoice at this marvelous creation. At this snapshot in time that Jesus shared with me. Our God is an ingenius creator and artist of life. All that we see has been conceived by his divine mind and imagination. It pleased him so to have such amazing visual beauties for the people of this world to enjoy and stand in awe of. I certainly stood in awe and wonder as I gazed upon the actual landscapes and scenery that gifted painters oftentimes depict in their works. There were many "Guatemalan moments" where the three of us would just stare off into the horizon, letting the vastness of it all wash over us. One thing that I learned about God from this trip is his unparalleled creativity that can really just captivate a person and render them not just speechless, but breathless. It was a joy to have the opportunity to simply revel in the beauty of Guatemala, a country that despite war, poverty, pollution and adversity has and ever will possess the great gift of its natural beauties which have been crafted and formed by the One and Only. They may not have the riches that this world seeks after with meaningless fury, but they do have this wonderful creation that speaks to them daily of the true riches that come from the Father alone. I pray for its preservation, for its inhabitants, for its wildlife and for its persistence. For Jesus to continue painting these incredible masterpieces into our lives and hearts. That when we look upon them, we would just crumble beneath his awesome power, splendor and supreme majesty. PRAISE GOD! PRAISE HIM! PRAISE THE ONE who by HIS WORD the whole world was made and everything in it! Jesus, this picture is but the smallest glimpse of what your great works are. Thank you for the chance to just see it with these two eyes of mine. Keep revealing yourself to me through your creation and your Word, opening my eyes to the immense beauty that you have established here as well. Amen.