Habakkuk 2:18-20 – What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! ¹⁹ Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. ²⁰ But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Kentucky’s Natural Arch (not to be confused with Natural Bridge).  Natural Arch Scenic Area, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky.

On this particular January day two years ago we were hiking the Buffalo Canyon Trail in the Natural Arch Scenic Area of the Daniel Boone National Forest.  We saw a few other people around the arch, but pretty much had the entire five mile trail to ourselves.  The silence was amazing and was interrupted only periodically by the sound of large icicles crashing down from the cliffs above.

One of the big reasons I enjoy getting out into the wilderness is the opportunity to get away from the cacophony of life in the modern world.  With televisions, computers, cell phones, and countless other noise-making, electronic devices vying for our attention every day, we barely have time to hear our own thoughts, let alone time to listen to the voice of our God and Creator, and reflect on his greatness.

Not only does the wilderness give us a chance to see and experience the beauty of God’s creation, it also forces us to turn off the electronic devices we have all come to depend on, often to the point of idolatry.  Do we trust the voices we hear through these creations of man, more than we trust the voice of God that we hear through his creation and through his words in the Bible?  These devices are useful tools, but not worthy of the time and attention we give them.

Take some time away, even if only for a few hours, and put away these idols of glass, metal, and plastic.  Get out into God’s creation, marvel at his amazing handiwork, listen to his voice, and “let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Read more about my “God is Revealed…“ category of posts

© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2014.