A few days ago, on August 21, 2017, I drove to Clemson University to witness the total solar eclipse passing over the United States, and I was not disappointed by what I witnessed.

The solar eclipse was breath-taking, awe-inspiring, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and despite the bumper-to-bumper traffic, 95-degree weather and bout of food poisoning that resulted from my trip to Clemson, I have no regrets about going to see it. It was spectacular, and solar eclipses such as this one show us a lot about the nature of God.

Here are 6 things I learned about God from witnessing the solar eclipse.

1. God is powerful.

This one goes almost without saying, but what an incredible display of power—that God can line our planet, the moon and the sun with just the right precision that the sun itself is blotted out by the moon. Our God is a God of power, the God of the universe, and He has the ability to make the sun—1.989 x 10³⁰ kilograms of gas burning at 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at its core—disappear. That in itself is incredible.

2. God is creative.

Who would think to use the moon, a relatively small chunk of gray rock, to blot out the light of our sun? We see God's creativity and cleverness in the solar eclipse. He can make spectacular things happen in ways that we would never expect or predict.

3. God's instruments of change aren't always spectacular.

He can use people or events that seem small or insignificant to make marvelous deeds come to life. The moon is millions of times smaller than the sun, yet He still managed to use the moon to blot out the sun's light, despite its size. In the same way, He can work in our lives to bring about miracles and incredible change, even if we feel small, powerless or insignificant.

4. God is beautiful.

The solar eclipse was breathtakingly beautiful. The 360-degree sunset, the clear view of the sun's glowing white atmosphere and the sudden nighttime that fell over the world were all stunning displays of God's beauty. He is a God of grace, light and beauty, and the solar eclipse elegantly captures this side of God.

5. God is awe-inspiring.

There is no other way to put it: The solar eclipse was awe-inspiring. God's majesty and power was clearly visible, and it took my breath away to witness it. Our God is incredible, and we sometimes forget just how incredible He really is, but the solar eclipse reminds us that He is an amazing God, a God that is really and truly awe-inspiring.

6. God's existence is undeniable.

Watching the solar eclipse was a dramatic and undeniable affirmation of God's existence. It seems impossible that the solar eclipse, in all its power, grace and beauty, could have happened by random chance—only by intelligent design is the solar eclipse truly explainable. It is a true reflection of God and all that He stands for.

The solar eclipse was an incredible event to witness, for both believers and nonbelievers. However, as a believer, I saw God in so many ways as the sun was swallowed up by the moon. It was a beautiful experience that I will remember for the rest of my life, and I'm already making plans to see the next eclipse on April 8, 2024. I truly saw God in this spectacular natural phenomenon, and it only served to reinforce my firm belief in God's presence and in the universe's intelligent design.