Isaiah 44:23 - "Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel."

One of the greatest joys of my life has been the opportunity to share a love of music, and a beloved musical, with my daughter.  When I was a little girl, I watched “The Sound of Music” each year with my mom when it aired on television.  Thanks to the magic of DVD players, when my daughter was little, she and I could not only watch this classic any time we wanted, but because we had the sing-along version, we could belt our hearts out along with Julie Andrews as the words scrolled across the screen for each musical number.  

Recently, my now young-adult daughter experienced a girl’s dream come true when she traveled to Salzburg, and took “The Sound of Music” tour, visiting many of the places where those iconic movie scenes were filmed.  My favorite photo from that tour is one she sent of herself on a hill, arms outstretched, the mountains rising behind her just as they do behind Maria as she runs and twirls and sings, “The hills are alive with the sound of music…” I cannot help but hear the mountains singing when I look at that picture.

Here in East Tennessee, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, where this podcast originates, it is easy to imagine the mountains bursting into song.  Something about the majesty of mountains, the beauty of forests and brooks, the sound of leaves rustling and trees dancing in the wind lifts our spirits heavenward and inspires hymns of praise and Thanksgiving.  The words of the prophet Isaiah, praising God who would redeem and restore Israel, are no less relevant today than when they were written.  The hills are indeed alive with the sound of music!  God’s creation in its beauty and majesty endlessly proclaims God’s glory, and moves us to sing along.  As we go through this day, may we have eyes to see the beauty, ears to hear the music, and hearts moved to join the chorus.

Lord, thank you for the infinite beauty of your creation.  May our hearts never become hardened, and our ears never deafened to its music.  May we always be moved to sing your praise along with the mountains, forests, and trees.  Amen.

This devotion was written and recorded by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.