You can always rely on the sun

On one thing you can be sure, the Sun rises every morning and sets every evening. I have to admit it is something I rarely see, as in the morning I am nearly always asleep and in the evening I am usually home making dinner or settling in the for the night. 

The last couple of weeks I have been travelling and as schedules would have it I have seen a few sunsets and sunrises. I said to my fellow travellers as we were looking at the sunrise..."I never tire of seeing that, it captures my attention every time". Now, having just admitted that it is not a regular occurrence, you may wonder how I could say that!  Over the 48 years of my life, I have seen my fair share of sunsets and sunrises, and not one has been the same. They are so unique and beautiful. I can only imagine this would never change. 

But it makes me wonder how different my life might be if I simply began and ended my day gazing at the sun?  Would it change my perspective on life, on creation, on my creator?

To daily gaze upon His consistency, His faithfulness, the beauty that is always the same and yet always different everyday...in fact two times a day. The bigness of the sun and the way it stretches so far across the universe that I could see it no matter which part of the world I am in. The intensity of the Sun, so much so that there are moments when you simply cannot gaze directly at it or you are blinded, and then as quickly as that it disperses into the clouds and allows you to see it’s far reaching effects. The fact that one minute it is dark and then in a moment light appears OR at sunset it is light and within a minute is it dark. The fact that as you watch the sky it continually changes moment by moment. It is a photographers dream to capture the moments, and every day it is a never ending challenge. The colours are ever changing and morphing before your eyes. 

It would only take an hour out of my day to see it and yet I am not prepared to make this commitment, even though I know it would be a great way to start and end my day. We are often not good at doing what it best for us. The sad thing is that there are many things that actually take more than an hour of my time each day that have no earthly or eternal value to my life. They can actually bring stress, pain or negativity and yet I continue to allow them to dictate the way I live my life. All the while the sun rises and sets each day, whether I see it or not. It is consistent, faithful, not demanding that I acknowledge it, yet it remains beautiful and inspiring. It is a message from the creator that I can rely on Him to be there every day and to remind me that just when we think we have seen what He can do, He amazes us with something new. 

The other day I had a really tough night and was feeling rather down in my spirit, so I decided I would get up and watch the sun rise to get a different perspective.  But this day it was very cloudy and I sat there thinking “great, I bothered for nothing; I won’t be able to see anything”. Funny how God does that … challenges you in ways you don’t expect. Here I am feeling more sorry for myself that I got up early to see the sunrise, but the clouds were in the way. And then a peek of brilliant sun burst through the clouds for just a moment, and then nothing much more for that morning. I realised that even when we can’t always see it, when the clouds and darkness of life fill our minds, the sun still rises and sets. Even if we choose not to see it, or let the clouds consume us, He remains consistent and faithful, still beautiful and inspiring.

I do believe I live each day differently when I begin and end my day with Him. The sunset and sunrise reminds me that it is always the best choice. And it IS our choice. He never changes. He has made his choice. We CAN rely on the sun to rise and the sun to set. Like the Sun, we can rely on the Creator of the sun to be faithful, consistent, colourful, life giving, ever inspiring, amazingly beautiful and one to be in awe of. The choice is… will I live each day with that perspective and see how that can change the way I live? 

From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of the LORD is to be praised

Ps 113:3