How great Thou art.

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The Lord's voice is on the waters. The God of glory thunders, even the Lord on many waters. The Lord's voice is powerful. The Lord's voice is full of majesty.
Psalm 29:3-4 · WEB

Devotional.

While researching for this morning's devotional, I came across the story of how How Great Thou Art was written.

You probably already know, but for those that don't, it was written in 1885 by a Swedish pastor named Carl Boberg.

He was walking home from church, listening to the church bells, when a thunderstorm swept in off the water. Lightning. Wind. Thunder claps. And then it passed. The clouds broke open. Birds started singing again. A rainbow appeared.

He went home and wrote a poem. Nine verses in Swedish, "O Store Gud" — O Great God. Translated into English, it became the hymn millions have sung: "How Great Thou Art."

It was never meant to be a church song. It was a man outside, shaken by the sky, trying to put into words what had just happened to him.

I think I've mentioned it before, but I find sung worship in church a little hard. The music is usually too loud, and I almost never feel connected to God through it.

But what I find a lot easier is what Carl Boberg found. Not a service. Just creation doing what it always does: declaring.

A storm rolling in. Stars coming out. Walking in the woods, looking at nature. Something in those moments cuts right through my distraction and makes God feel unmistakably real.

How Great Thou Art works because it doesn't try to create awe out of nothing. It just looks at what's already there - forests, stars, the cross, the resurrection - and says, look at that.

Look at Who that is.

That is my God.

If sung worship is hard for you too, just step outside. The sermon is still going.

Prayer.

Lord, how great You are, beyond words, beyond comprehension, beyond anything my mind can fully grasp or my heart fully express.

Your greatness is displayed everywhere I look, in creation's vastness, in miracles recorded in scripture, in my own life where You've shown up time and again.

Teach me to live with constant awareness of Your greatness, not just acknowledging it intellectually but responding with awe, wonder, and worship that flows from really seeing who You are.

You are great in power, creating universes with a word, great in love, pursuing humanity relentlessly, great in mercy, forgiving what should be unforgivable.

Help me never lose my sense of wonder at Your greatness, never become so familiar with You that I forget how magnificent, how mighty, how marvelous You truly are.

Remind me that the greatness I see is just a glimpse, that what I comprehend is only a fraction of Your full glory, that eternity won't be long enough to explore Your greatness completely.

Give me a heart that responds to Your greatness with worship, with surrender, with trust, knowing that a God this great is worthy of my complete devotion.

Let my life declare how great You are, not just in words but in how I trust You, follow You, and give You the honor that Your greatness deserves.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

To think about.

Where do you most easily feel the presence of God?
When did something in creation last stop you in your tracks?
What gets in the way of worship for you?
Is there a song or hymn that helps you connect with God?
How does knowing God is great change the way you face today?

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Written by the founder of Faithful Grace

They write about everyday faith: parenting two young boys, the worries that keep us up at night, and the small ordinary moments God uses to show us who He is.