the story behind the song

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Sunsets take my breath away. The colors are an endless palette of delight. Maybe it’s the scale, the sheer magnitude, the height, the width and vastness. I’m in the presence of greatness, and humbled to be there. It’s art straight from the hands of our creator. The fleeting brevity just makes it  special. Once the sun touches the horizon, you have about 3 minutes until the day is done. For my wife and me, it’s a short, speechless span of ecstasy. My little finite brain is so overwhelmed with beauty, I’m afraid to interrupt with the smallness of my words. We basically moan, ooo and aah, and get all misty eyed, but can’t say much until it’s over. The sunset is one thing that works out perfectly every day. Even if the clouds hide it, I still know that nothing messes with this grand march of time. 

The vast distance reminds me that my sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west. (Psalms 103:12) That’s even farther than my eyes can see. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude during this momentary glimpse into the infinite. I’m grateful for eyes to take it in. The brilliance of the sky sets my soul ablaze with awe and wonder. I’ve been granted another day on this awesome planet, surrounded by people who love me. Most of all, I’m grateful that this great, grand King of the Universe counts me as his friend. “I no longer call you servants… Instead, I have called you friends.” John 15:15

I’m reminded that life is a vapor, and my significance apart from my creator is less than one grain of sand in all the oceans of the world. It’s an incomprehensible move from insignificant speck to “friend of God”, certainly better than any “I’m with the band” moment. 

My wife and I were far out in the country camping in our little RV one warm summer night. Those mountains and plains were there long before I came along, and they will be there long after I am gone. As I pondered the sunset, the words to a song began to come to me. I grabbed my guitar and began to sing:

I’m looking out at wide-open spaces

Mining truth from ancient mystery

Pondering my grain of sand existence

In a world that’s more than I can see

It’s big and it’s deep

It’s high and it’s sweet

It’s vast and it’s strong

And it goes on and on and on and on…

I’m looking out at wide open spaces

Wondering just how far I can see

I’m looking for God‘s eternal purpose

Listening to his voice inside of me

In him we live and have our being

It’s him who gives us eyes to see

That it’s big and it’s deep

It’s high and it’s sweet

It’s vast and it’s strong

And it goes on and on and on and on….

I was looking for God‘s eternal purpose

All along it was inside of me

Still drawn to those wide open Spaces

Where truth is found in mystery

The word mystery is found 28 times in the New Testament. It refers to a spiritual truth that is intimated but not fully revealed. I knew God was speaking to me of his greatness, as I scanned the great horizon that lay beneath the living canvas, yet I was aware that I couldn’t comprehend the fullness of his greatness. I was in the midst of a great mystery. In order to make them easy to understand, sometimes we over simplify the things of God, leaving out the mystery. 

One of the marks of a genuine, honest person is their ability to say “I don’t know, or I don’t understand.” I don’t know how big this vast universe really is, nor can I fully comprehend how God can create such a complex, massive universe, and at the same time know how many hairs are on our heads. But I do know:

In him we live and have our being

It’s him who gives us eyes to see

That it’s big and it’s deep

It’s high and it’s sweet

It’s vast and it’s strong

And it goes on and on and on and on….

And that’s the story behind the song.