Rejoicing in the “joyful sound” of God’s creation

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound” (Ps. 89). We not only can make the “joyful sound” but we can hear the joy in a sound. The birds awakening in the morning. The dance music filtering out through the window of a neighbor’s house. A church chime ringing down the street—That’s why we are created the way we are.

Only we can appreciate the bright yellow shining out of a spring forsythia bush. Or stare with wonder at the pink blossoms that emerge during summer from the many prickly globes of a beehive cactus. Only we can greet the fall in the October glory of a maple tree and discover ways to develop its syrupy sweetness. And only our hearts are warmed by the dancing brilliance of frosted trees after a first snow—That’s why we are created the way we are.

Our noses and taste buds turn fresh bread into a spiritual inspiration. We discern the sweet and the sour, the rotten and the ripening. And we savor it all—incense, cedars, perfume, spices—finding within it the “sweet smelling” fragrance of God’s love—That’s why we are created the way we are.

Strengthened by the spirit of His righteousness, our hearts overflow with mercy in the midst of tragedy. We laugh out loud with glee, filling our challenging lives with hope and humor. The human spirit elevates the sorrow of great loss into resolve and determination—That’s why we are created the way we are.

That’s why God “created the heavens,” and “spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it.” That’s why God gave “breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein” (Isa. 42:5). And so He says, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (43:1). (Living Strong, chapter 1)