God Uses Indicators: Seeing God in Grand Geyser
Grand Geyser is arguably the most beautiful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. While some visitors may like other geysers better for their power or quirks, Grand is always a beautiful show.
Splashing up two hundred feet into the air, Grand is a spectacle worth waiting for. It is known as the tallest predictable geyser in the world (not to be confused with Steamboat, which is the tallest active but not predictable geyser), and even though it is predictable, you still have to wait hours to see the show.
Grand, though, is kind. It likes to tip you off that it is about to show off. Many veteran visitors of the park love educating the new people on what they are looking for.
Grand is a fountain geyser, meaning it comes out of a water pool versus a spray nozzle like a cone. Some of the indicators have to do with this pool. After an eruption, the pool drains and must fill back to overflowing to be in the window (opportunity) for an eruption.
Other geysers and vents nearby factor into an eruption of Grand. Turban and Vent Geyser; both help the veteran gazers know what is going on in the underground plumbing of this incredible geyser.
The entire system has a process and a cycle that you can observe if you sit long enough and know what to look for. The basic gist (from me as a novice) is if the pool fills up, then Turban goes off, and the water level of Grand drops (instead of rises), it will typically take up to twenty minutes before Grand can try to erupt again. It repeats this cycle until it is successful.
When Grand is on the brink of exploding into an eruption, one small indicator gets the veteran visitors excited, waves on Grand.
The pool is filling up rapidly, causing ripples to occur on the surface of Grand’s pool. Those who know what they are looking for, place a call into the radio and speak the words, “Waves on Grand,” letting everyone know an eruption is likely.
What makes this and other geysers so fun is that they have strong indicators, but it isn’t a guarantee. These indicators help determine what the geyser “may do” and be doing, but we don’t know the full picture.
In Mathew Chapter 24, Jesus tells us the exact indicators to watch for that will signify the end of the world.
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,
5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
7 Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
- Matthew 24:4-8 (NLT)
Jesus continues to give us a more specific indicator about what to look for when on the brink of Him closing the chapter on this world,
15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.
17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack.
18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat.
19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.
20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.
22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.
- Matthew 24:15-22 (NLT)
Jesus paints a not so rosy picture of what it’ll be like in the last days and tells us of the suffering of the faithful, His followers, but to get busy doing His work because He is coming soon.
I’m sure the disciples were murmuring and at a near panic, “what if we miss it?” “What does this all mean?” “I need to understand the prophet Daniel to know when you are coming?”
Jesus smiles, knowing how silly we humans are. Yet, for some reason, He loves us, even though we are dense, but He assures His disciples and us that we will know when His never dying, never stopping, unfailing love for His bride will erupt, and He comes back for His church.
27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.
- Matthew 24:27 (NLT)
Jesus is smart. He must have known we’d all just sit around and wait and not do anything, so he throws in a caveat to make sure we aren’t missing the forest through the trees,
36 However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
- Matthew 24:36 (NLT)
To make sure that we get it, Jesus says it even more straightforward,
43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
- Matthew 24:43 (NLT)
In our lives, we can see that the indicators are at full blast, war, famine, persecution of the faithful followers of Christ, but instead of running for hills (we haven’t seen that part yet), we need to get busy. The indicators are going off.
The disciples felt that Jesus would come back any day, but instead of waiting, they got busy doing God’s work, loving people and telling them that there is a God who loves them enough to sacrifice Himself for them.
There are “waves on Grand,” so let’s get busy doing the work that Christ has called us to, loving people to heaven.
This observational is from my book “God is Like a Geyser” which has over 357 reviews (278 5 star reviews!). Grab your copy if you want to discover God in the geysers of Yellowstone National Park.
