5,500 ft deep at it’s lowest point, up to 18 miles wide at its brim, and it’s 277 miles of natural beauty carved into the northwest corner of Arizona.

Where did it come from? Good Question.

This majestic landscape was not created over night. It has been growing wider, longer, and deeper for 15 million years and continues now even as you read this webpage. The “tiny” Colorado River winds its way through a geographical maze with its every turn of randomness creating an equally unique rock formation that makes any “Hello from the Grand Canyon” post card a beauty to behold.

When I was a teenager, my family took a trip to see the Grand Canyon. It was HUGE, and somehow we ended up taking a tour of the “ridge”. This tour wasn’t exactly “mainstream” which allowed us to walk right up the the canyons edge and look down. I’m not going to lie, that made quite an impression on me. Starring down at certain death with one misstep is something I will probably never forget.

Recently though, I have a new found appreciation for this natural marvel. Not so much the canyon itself, but the tiny Colorado River at its base. Through natural law and circumstance, the river followed the path of least resistance through the desert and over time, made quite an impression. The Grand Canyon’s beauty is a direct result of the water from the river working, wearing, and forming its path year after year after year. In essence, the canyon would not exist as it does today without the work of the Colorado River molding it into the wonder it has become.

This river has changed my life. This river is the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever noticed how many times in the Bible the Holy Spirit is compared to or referenced as water? I had, but never really made the connection. The first time the Spirit is mentioned, it’s early in the book of Genesis and it is “hovering over the waters” (Gen. 1:2).  When we are baptized, we are submerged in water. This signifies a death of the “old man” and a rising again with God’s Spirit. There are multiple times through out God’s word that the Spirit and water are found together, hand in hand, representing one another. Oddly enough, I believe they are subject to the same natural laws that formed the Grand Canyon. They both must follow the path of least resistance.

When you allow the Holy Spirit to work on you, to work in you, and to work on your behalf, things don’t always go according to “your” plan. In fact, it sometimes seems that your life is random or misguided following no real plan or purpose. Not so. The Holy Spirit will work with anything and everything we are willing to surrender to Him. He can change our lives from a barren desert into a beautiful masterpiece. All He needs is time, and cooperation.

When I see pictures of the Grand Canyon, I see me. It may sound stupid, but I don’t care, because if you look about 5,500 feet down, you’ll see the Holy Spirit at work creating something wonderful, beautiful, and random.