light of the world

I think back to what the earth must have been like, before we took over. I think back to Adam & Eve, the first to walk this earth - ground untouched, air unpolluted, sin not present. And I think about the glory of God's creation in it's most natural, fresh, beautiful, untouched, untainted state.

I looked around yesterday morning, as I sat on the roof and watched this captivating sunrise - literally a sunrise unlike any other I have seen - so full of God's glory that it brought tears to my eyes, despite the view of an intruding powerline. And I thought about the metaphor of this sunrise.

See, I was first sitting in my bed, about to open my Bible and start my quiet time, when I looked out the window and saw this tiny cloud start to light up as it turned into this golden version of itself. And I immediately went up to the roof so I could see the entire sky.

And I cannot begin to describe the beauty and the glory of this sunrise.

As I watched the sun beam through the clouds, creating the most beautiful of rays, I felt God tell me, "I've got you. I've got this. I'm so much bigger than you, and I love you so much - more than you can even imagine."

When I first made my way up to the roof, I was captivated by all the surrounding clouds filling the sky, this 360 degree view of the most beautiful, gold-flecked clouds lit up by the sun that I couldn't see yet. I kept turning around and around, each minute the sky more beautiful than the next.

And then the moment came when I saw that first little fleck of gold rise above the horizon - rising so quickly you wish you could slow it down. And all those gold-flecked clouds filling the sky become a duller version as the golden intensity of the rising sun took over - radiating and beaming up from the horizon... Like the glory of the Lord was beaming up from the earth to the heavens.

As I watched this sunrise, I couldn't help but think, isn't that how it is in our lives when we are going through a dark time - a broken relationship, a loss of some kind, or a period of drought. Maybe we're just tired, uninspired, a bit hopeless.

But then we look up, we see that little cloud - that sign of hope from the Lord, that small realization of how we've grown from our time of darkness - the beauty of that small cloud inspiring us to get out of bed, to walk up those stairs, to go outside... to look up. And that's when we see the whole sky, in all it's splendor.

And then the sun rises and we finally see the greater perspective, the bigger picture, the lesson the Lord has taught us through that time of darkness. How he used it to shape us, guide us, and ultimately give us greater life.

Jesus is often compared to the sun in the Bible. In John 8:12 He's called the "light of the world." Just like the sun that rises every morning, He will show up. He will heal us. He will bring new hope, new life, new restoration.

As I was watched this sunrise, I also felt the Lord say to me, "My child, I make all things new. My glory and my grace and my love are new every morning." And it was this beautiful moment of enjoying God's creation - in the stillness and quiet of the morning - and seeing the most truly grand, breathtaking sunrise I have ever seen. I felt so connected to the Lord, so grateful and humbled to be His child.

For I know that no matter what I go through on this earth, no matter how heavy my heart may be from things I have experienced here - this tainted, corrupted, polluted earth on which we live - views of nature obstructed by powerlines and all - there is still beauty. All around. Every morning.

Our God is the same God from those days when Adam & Eve walked this untainted earth. He hasn't changed. He is still sovereign. And He loves us dearly. No matter what we're going through, He's "got us." He's "got this." Whatever it may be...

And so we put our faith in Him. We put our trust in Him. The God of the Universe who has the power and the glory to create such beautiful sunrises. It's this God who wants to reveal to us His glory and His beauty. No matter how dark our night has been. 

Yesterday was the final day of my "21 Day Challenge." And I can truly say I have cultivated a more grateful heart. Starting each day thinking of what I am grateful for, noticing things I am grateful for throughout the day, and ending each day doing the same. It's amazing what a little perspective shift can do.

Yesterday morning I awoke well aware that it would be my last day to post for this "challenge" and full of excitement to see just what the Lord would reveal to me. And it didn't take long for him to reveal to me... just how big and grand and real He is... through the beauty of a sunrise.