As I stood at the rail, looking into the great chasm before me, I wondered about the impending sunset.  I was on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, facing west as the light in the sky dwindled.  It was the end of my last day there, and I wanted to capture a vivid sunset memory to encapsulate the trip.  The hoped-for event was becoming increasingly cloud covered, and the colors were only hints of the glory I had anticipated.  As I stood there, waiting, I realized that everyone else around me had given up and headed back to the tram-stop to catch a ride back to the village.

Something held me there, and so I lingered, leaning against the rail.  Almost suddenly, I was aware of a breeze that came up from the depths.  At first it was gentle, but it grew by the moment into a rushing wind that would have taken my hat off had I not jammed it back on my head.  All at once, I was moved in my spirit by that wind.  Oh, my feet were still on the ground, but I was aware of a presence in the wind that answered my yearning for completion.  It was as if the Creator himself was lifting my spirit in the rising flow of air.  The display of glory that I sought with my eyes was being fulfilled by the rushing draught.  It seemed like the Spirit was moving and I needed only to rest in it to be a part.

Words from Acts 2 came to mind – the movement of the Holy Spirit described as the “sound like the blowing of a violent wind” (Acts 2:2).  The sound and feel of the wind I experienced grew around me and although I would not have described it as violent, it certainly moved me, almost to the point of alarm.  It was as though the Lord was seeking to remind me that his glory is found in more than the bright colors of the sunset.  As I continued to stand in that rush, my soul was filled with wonder and I found myself praising the great God whose Son could still the stormy winds with a simple command (see Mark 4:39), but whose Spirit comes and goes like the wind (ala John 3:8).  There was great beauty and majesty in that mighty wind…

The wind began to drop, and the moment passed.  I looked up to realize that I had stood there in that moment longer than I knew, eyes closed, enraptured.  The light was failing and I hurried back to the tram stop so that I wouldn’t have to feel my way in the dark.

As I rode back to the village to rejoin my wife, I considered what had just happened.  It was better than I could have hoped.  I had come looking for a photo op and some colorful display.  Instead, I had encountered something much more powerful.  It was as though the Lord had fulfilled his promise in that moment “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20-21), to his great glory!  I smiled to myself.

My God did not satisfy my expectations.  He satisfied my soul.

 

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