I have seen many a natural phenomenon – but little compares to the majestic Niagara Falls. Despite visiting the Falls umpteen times, they always take my breath away. You park your vehicle a little far aways – because you’re frugal 🙂 – and walk down Clifton Hill towards the Falls. As you approach the bend, your steps quicken; your excitement heightens. The rumble you have been hearing for a while now gets increasingly louder. You hasten your steps a little more. And as you maneuver the last bend, you behold her; in all her majesty! She is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Powerful. Roaring. Stunning. Invincible. You have seen her photos before, so you think you know what to expect. But she ups the ante; proving to you that no image can accurately capture her essence. She is stunning and she knows it! You stop. Mesmerized. Your mouth agape. But she calls to you, urging you to get closer – her sound just about deafening at this point. You elbow your way through the throngs of selfie-taking tourists – striving to reach the crest line. The closer you get, you increasingly become drenched by the spray that is spat back when 168,000 cubic meters of water cascade down a 180 foot drop to the rocks below. You attempt to shield your head from the spray – but you abandon the idea. It’s a losing battle. At last. You arrive. After numerous tries and a few shoves, you finally secure a spot at the crest line; the exact spot where the water, well…falls. A most coveted spot. You drape yourself over the railing and you watch with amazement as volumes upon volumes of water endlessly rush past you and take a plunge into the earth below. A most beautiful sight. A most hypnotizing sight. “I told you I was beautiful!”, she roars with pride in her voice. You nod. You don’t say a word – hardly anyone says a word. You all stand there in deep awe and respect of this phenomenon that is Mother Nature.
Something catches your eye. It’s a boat. Way down at the bottom. Looks like fun, you say. You buy your costly ticket and hop on. They promise to take you close to the Falls; but you’re disappointed. You expected to get way closer but the boat stops far off – forbidden by the Falls to draw any nearer. She is a force to be reckoned with – and if you push your luck, she will swallow you whole; unapologetically. So the captain of the boat stalls the boat and lets you behold her beauty from a safe distance; her waters soaking you to the bone; her thunderous roar threatening to rupture your eardrums. Yes, indeed, a powerful, unmistakable, force of nature she is.
Fast forward. A friend and I went to New Orleans on a business trip. On the flight back, the pilot announced that if we looked to the left of the plane, we would see Niagara Falls. As blessings would have it, I was on the left side. I immediately looked out, excited to see her. But something was amiss. I couldn’t behold her. I asked my friend to help me look and in no time we were engaged in a game of Where’s Waldo Miss Falls? As the plane kept surging forward, I quickly took out my phone and snapped a photo. My friend and I then spent the next few seconds studying the photo. It was only after we zoomed in that we were finally able to see the Falls. I was flabbergasted! For all her pride and pomp on the ground level, from an aerial viewpoint she was reduced to nothing more than a penny-sized dot! Her grandeur muted; her power tamed; her pride stripped away. Oh Falls, where is your majesty?
I think that one of the best gifts in life is “perspective”. There, on that plane, I was gifted with a glimpse of what seeing things from God’s perspective looks like. When we look at our world today, there is a lot of ‘bad stuff’ going on that seems too astronomical; too insurmountable; too unsolvable. You listen to the news and your heart sinks; you hear of problems people everywhere are going through and you feel deflated. Our world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket. You wonder if there is even a need to pray – because you cannot see how a solution is even possible. Or maybe on a personal level, you feel like you are in that boat I described earlier – except the captain sails right into the Falls, and you find yourself engulfed in the fury of your circumstance, completely surrounded, drowning, not perceiving a way out.
Can I just tell you that God is able? He created heavens and the earth and everything in it – using only His word no less! His weakest ‘weakness’ is far more powerful than the strongest strength of all the powerful forces combined. He can take mountains and toss them into the midst of the sea. He quiets the raging seas. Powerful waterfalls are but mere droplets to Him. He defeats vast armies at the blink of an eye. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:26) So what can your “little” prayer accomplish? A whole lot!..when prayed in faith (even as small as a mustard seed), believing that the Lord God Almighty is able. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16b)
Another perspective. Sometimes when we focus only on our own little world, our problems can seem Niagara-Falls-esque. But if we take the time to step away from our little world and observe other people’s lives, we quickly realize that we are indeed blessed; and very much so! No matter how bad we have it, I can guarantee you that someone somewhere has it way worse than we do. So let’s take the time to count our blessings and literally name them one by one. From personal experience, I have found that nothing ends my pity-party faster than praying for other people, and praising God. Praise takes the focus off of our circumstances and points our eyes and hearts upwards to a loving and good Father who is still seated on His throne of grace and mercy. Praise opens prison doors and unshackles chains (Acts 16). Praise, especially in the midst of turmoil, demonstrates to God that we love Him for who He is; not for what He does for us. So let us unceasingly bring Him a sacrifice of our praise. He gave us Jesus crucified – and if He was to never do anything else for us, He has already done more than enough – because accepting His Son ushers us into an eternity with Him; an eternity with no pain, sorrow or strife. And there is absolutely nothing better than that.
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