Hidden Sunrise

"And when by His light I walked through darkness;" Job 29:3b

"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way..." Exodus 13:21a

The other day, I arose earlier than normal. While some people make it a habit of waking up before the God-given indication that the new day has begun, I've always been a firm believer in seeing sunlight first. So, needless to say, I'm not a morning person. But that morning I thought that I would take advantage of my random alertness and attempt to see the sun rise. I made the trek to the deck on the ship and set up my chair with expectancy.

Time passed and as I sat in quiet prayer, the peace of the morning covered me like a down blanket. I knew God was with me. I have to admit that, for a moment, I began to understand how it is that those early risers must feel. And as the sky moved from dark to light, I thought for a moment that I had missed the main point of my being out there...the SUN. In all the peace, I realized that I missed the fact that I didn't get treated to a beautiful sunrise filled with oranges and purples and reds and golds. The sky went from one shade of blue-grey to a lighter shade thereof. The peace that I felt had distracted me from missing that "show" of light.

And before I could even think of being disappointed at that fact, the Lord began to minister to me about how the sun was still there and had, in fact, still put on a show that I simply could not see. Even though it was veiled by clouds, it was there. It didn't cease to rise just because clouds were in the way or because it couldn't "show off" its splendor. The sun had risen behind the clouds and pushed darkness away. Regardless of what my sight was telling me, the sun didn't change its habits just because the clouds were in the way.

And so it goes in life. There are times when we can't see God and when it seems like the He's not there, but there's evidence of His presence comes as the light (joy, peace, love, etc) pushes out the darkness (confusion, anger, bitterness, etc.) of life. If we allow light to enter and meditate on those things, there's no way for darkness to stay. It must go! No matter what you are going through, you need to remember that, like the sun, The Son is always there. As Job testified, He can serve as a light to help us push through darkness. (Job 29:3a) As He was with the children of Isreal so long ago, He will guide us in the midst of the clouds. (Exodus 13:21a) If you focus, God has a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7) waiting to cover you like a down blanket even in the midst of your trial. At the end of the day, be encouraged and remember that the presence of God has the ability to distract you from the fact that you can't make sense of the light.Walk in faith. Don't worry about your sight.

Blessings,
PastorA