Smoking Mountains, Trembling Earth

"He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke" - Psalm 104:32.

Thirty years ago this May 18th the north face of Mt. St. Helens collapsed and then literally exploded.  At this link you can watch the first eighteen seconds of what ended up being a nine hour event.  At this link you can watch a nearly four minute video.  The eruption column alone of ash and rock was over eighty thousand feet high.  The mudslide created by the melted snow and ice created a swath of destruction that stretched for over fifty miles.  Fifty-seven people died.  Two hundred and fifty homes were destroyed.  Forty-seven bridges, fifteen miles of railways, one hundred and eighty-five miles of highway, all damaged or destroyed.  An estimated one hundred and seventy-five thousand animals were killed, including seven thousand big game animals.  The blast was so strong, it was like five hundred atomic bombs went off.  Another report I read said it was more powerful than fifteen hundred atomic bombs.  The Mt. St. Helens eruption was one of the most destructive in modern U.S. history.

God had touched Mt. St. Helens and God is touching mountains today.

A person can react one of a few different ways when witnessing such an event.  Some may react with indifference.  "Aw, this was no big deal.  So, a mountain blew its top and a few people died and some animals were killed.  It's just part of living life here on this earth."

Others may curse.  They will blame God but also fail to see that God is sovereign over the universe and life.  He is the Creator and Sustainer.  He gives life, holds it and the universe together, and He takes life away.  All things live and move and have their being because of Him.  Harry Truman was proprietor of St. Helens Lodge on Spirit Lake.  He laughed and scoffed, saying the mountain couldn't hurt him.  On that late spring morning nearly thiry years ago, he was buried under one hundred feet of volcanic debris.  Harry Truman did not have a proper view of God.   

How should we respond?  I believe the way we should respond is with worship.  It is a terrifying yet glorious thing to experience the power of God when He looks at the earth and it trembles.  He is All Mighty, He is All Powerful, and He is merciful that more people didn't die when He lowered Mt. St. Helen's peak by over 1,000 feet, with just the touch of His finger...