Dundee Falls, Wyoming
There are sounds in the wilderness that are found nowhere else. The sound of a bubbling stream in the stillness, the whistle of a bird in the forest, the crash of a wave against the beach, the August cicadas’ droning, the roar of the wind through the pines.
Tree tunnel to the Flat Tops of Colorado
I read a quote recently that made me think about the sounds of the wilderness:
“There are sounds of peace…any sound that brings peace to you will bring fear to the powers of darkness. If it encourages you, it will discourage the devil. If it gives you joy, it will cause the devil sorrow… He (God) takes delight in the sounds that refresh His people.” (B.J., 2010)
Desert waterfall in Coyote Gulch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
God created the sounds of the wilderness to refresh and to restore. He created in us a sense that these sounds are meant for peace and not for us to fear. He takes us out to the wilderness to experience the sounds that He has made for His pleasure and for our pleasure so that He can gain pleasure from our enjoyment of all that He made.
Walking the meadows below Lava Mountain, Wyoming
There is a secondary reason for us to enjoy the sounds that God made in the wilderness. The joy and the peace that it brings to us is a direct affront to the powers of darkness.
Crested Pool in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin, Wyoming
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Sunset along the Grandview Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
The antithesis of the devil’s plans and purposes is joy and peace. But joy and peace is part of the fullness of life that Jesus speaks of in this passage. When we find that joy or peace in daily life or in our treks into the wilderness, we have found life; we have overcome in that moment the powers of darkness.
Waterfalls along the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, New Hampshire
So take a moment to enjoy the peace of a mountain meadow or a desert plain, to revel in the joy of a newly opened flower or a wispy cloud blowing across the sky. To hear the birdsong and smile, or allow the peaceful splashing of a waterfall to fill your ears. It is overcoming the evil one to enjoy the sounds and the wonders that God has created.
