Painting The Sky

On the hardest days, I drive straight to the ocean.

Something about the smell of salty air and staring out at the vast abyss can make any problem seem just a little bit smaller. Last week, after a hard conversation, I automatically drove to the end of Del Mar Heights Road, parked my car, put in my AirPods, perched on a rock, and watched as God painted the sky yellow, orange, pink, purple, and then faded into darkness. Matching my breath to the sound of the waves, suddenly everything started to seem easier, smaller, a little less overwhelming.

Why is it that watching the waves, hiking through the forest, staring at massive mountains, or gazing at the night sky has a way of calming us? Even if you wouldn’t call yourself “outdoorsy” - don’t worry I’m more of an Airbnb kind of girl too - we can all agree that nature has an undeniable power to give us a new perspective.

As I curled up and watched the beach sunset, one of my favorite songs came on - “Where Were You,” by Ghost Ship. And suddenly, this innate desire to run to God’s creation in the midst of struggle made sense.

“Where Were You” is a song that encapsulates the powerful speech God gives in Job 38-41. If you know the story of Job, you know that it’s one filled with suffering and struggle. God allows Job to be tested by the devil. He loses his livelihood, his family, everything dear to him, and is deeply grieved in the face of great trial. The majority of the book of Job is a conversation between Job and his friends as he processes his struggles and tries to understand how God could be just if he would let him suffer to this extent.

Have you ever been there? Maybe it was in March of 2020, when everything fell apart. Maybe it was when the affair happened, or the job loss, or the death of the person you needed most - and you were left, like Job, wondering, “How could God possibly be just?”

God responds with a beautiful, poetic speech and gives Job a virtual tour of the universe. God enters into Job’s finite, limited perspective, and tells him of his infinite, intentional creation. I’d encourage you to read those four chapters - they are incredibly powerful. For now, I’ll leave you with a few of the lyrics from the song that depicts God’s words:

I said "God I do not understand this world"

Everything is dying and broken

Why do I see nothing but suffering

God I'm asking could this be your plan?

Sin has taken hold of this whole land

Will You not say anything else to me?

He said "where were you the day that I measured"

Sunk the banks and stretched the line over

All the earth and carved out its cornerstone?

Where were you the day that I spoke and

Told the sun to split the night open

Calmed the morning dawn with its light to show

Who shut in the ocean with stone doors

Marked the reach of tides on those new shores

Hung the day the waves rose and first broke forth

God asks Job, he asks us, “Where were you when I created the sun, the moon, the stars? Where were you when I knit together the fibers of your being and perfectly crafted each tiny creature of the sea?” God describes the beauty of His creation to remind Job who He is - the all-powerful Creator. And to remind us that He has a universal vantage point. When we try to understand good and bad in a finite, limited way, we miss the whole point. Justice isn’t black and white.

God is working things out with an eternal perspective, and we aren’t in a place to question or fully understand. Instead, we remember who He is, we trust in the midst of suffering, and we seek Him.

That’s why the sunset over the ocean water helps me in my moments of struggle. That’s why staring at Half Dome, hiking through the redwoods, or spotting a shooting star, gives us a sense of awe that causes all of our worries to pale in comparison. God’s creation puts our problems in their place. The majesty of His universe reminds us that He is an incredible Creator, worthy of praise.

Creation is evidence of His goodness, so we look in awe and wonder to remind our wandering hearts that we don’t have to fear.

If He painted that sky, if He moved those mountains, if He crafted those forests, He won’t forget us. Our problems aren’t too big. He is in control. He’s got us. He’s got us.

When the problems are too big, when the stress feels overwhelming, drive to the water, walk in the forest, wiggle your toes in the sand. Remind yourself, there is more. He is making all things new. If He cares for the lilies of the fields, and the sparrows of the sky, He cares for you.

Let’s trust Him, together.

Cristina Schmitter

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