Writer
Potts Pages - And They Smoke
October 27, 2015
I love my beautiful home state of Tennessee. I have always lived in West Tennessee, but I love driving across the state to visit the Smoky Mountains. There is a sense of majesty and awe that sweeps over me when I am there.
I was curious about how the Smoky Mountains got their name, so I did a little research. The Cherokee Indians call these mountains shaconage (shah-con-ah-jey) which means “the place of blue smoke.” Is the smoke really smoke? No. It seems that what looks like smoke is actually fog or blue mist that hovers over the valleys and peaks of the mountains.
The Psalmist says, “He touches the mountains, and they smoke.” I have seen this verse included several times on artist’s renditions of the Smoky Mountains. I never want to misrepresent scripture so I looked this verse up in several commentaries and most agree that when the psalmist uses the term “smoke” that he is referring to volcanic lava spewing forth.
However, I don’t think that it is wrong for the East Tennessee artist to use this verse to refer to their mountains. Whether this verse is referring to volcanos or a blue mist hovering over the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the power of God is displayed.
Does it take any less power to spread a mist of fog over the Smoky Mountains than it does to erupt a volcano? Can you see the image, my friend? Can you see the hand of God touching the mountains and making a volcano erupt with hot molten lava and smoke? Can you see that same God touch a mountain range in Tennessee and cause a blue mist of fog to hover there? What awe-inspiring power!
God is all knowing, and I believe that when he inspired the psalmist to write this verse referring to volcanoes that he also could have looked down through the pages of history and knew that someday his people would use this verse to refer to the blue fog that he spread over the Tennessee Mountain range.
His word is a timeless message for the ages. His power is unmatchable. He is the Alpha and Omega forever. The power that touches the mountains and makes them smoke can touch lives and change them today.
Can you look at the mountains in your life and see where he touched them and made them smoke either by a powerful eruption or covering them with a peaceful fog? This is the message we are called to share, whether we tell it, paint it or write it. Our God is mighty! Sue
I was curious about how the Smoky Mountains got their name, so I did a little research. The Cherokee Indians call these mountains shaconage (shah-con-ah-jey) which means “the place of blue smoke.” Is the smoke really smoke? No. It seems that what looks like smoke is actually fog or blue mist that hovers over the valleys and peaks of the mountains.
The Psalmist says, “He touches the mountains, and they smoke.” I have seen this verse included several times on artist’s renditions of the Smoky Mountains. I never want to misrepresent scripture so I looked this verse up in several commentaries and most agree that when the psalmist uses the term “smoke” that he is referring to volcanic lava spewing forth.
However, I don’t think that it is wrong for the East Tennessee artist to use this verse to refer to their mountains. Whether this verse is referring to volcanos or a blue mist hovering over the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the power of God is displayed.
Does it take any less power to spread a mist of fog over the Smoky Mountains than it does to erupt a volcano? Can you see the image, my friend? Can you see the hand of God touching the mountains and making a volcano erupt with hot molten lava and smoke? Can you see that same God touch a mountain range in Tennessee and cause a blue mist of fog to hover there? What awe-inspiring power!
God is all knowing, and I believe that when he inspired the psalmist to write this verse referring to volcanoes that he also could have looked down through the pages of history and knew that someday his people would use this verse to refer to the blue fog that he spread over the Tennessee Mountain range.
His word is a timeless message for the ages. His power is unmatchable. He is the Alpha and Omega forever. The power that touches the mountains and makes them smoke can touch lives and change them today.
Can you look at the mountains in your life and see where he touched them and made them smoke either by a powerful eruption or covering them with a peaceful fog? This is the message we are called to share, whether we tell it, paint it or write it. Our God is mighty! Sue
Sue
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