God brought back to my memory an experience I had a few years ago during the Easter season. On that chilly Spring morning, I was supposed to drop my car off for repairs, but the appointment was rescheduled to an even earlier time. Did I grumble about having to wake up extra early and miss valuable youth-renewing sleep? ️Absolutely! Hey, I’m not the only one who values sleep and the warmth of down comforters on cold mornings. But hoo-hah the sights, sounds, smells which I stumbled into half asleep, as they were already set in motion, made for one of the most beautiful mornings I experienced in a very long time. So good that I hope to bring your mind back on this journey with me.
Early Quiet
There’s just something about the “early quiet.” It’s different than the hush of nighttime because nighttime feels like the silence of the sounds which reveal life. I’m talking about the morning hush which has undertones of soundscapes speaking loud enough that if you sit still, you can hear them. You can hear the dew glistening, the sun breaking through the darkness like a cloth ripping, the air crunching as it clears the mist from the cold and dew.
Creator’s Artistry
Then my eyes saw what I was hearing. Peering through my window, the deer family tiptoed in front of me. I stopped breathing even though the walls of the house separated us, but for that moment it felt like our two worlds became one. My hairbrush fell and she turned around! Did she hear me? No, it can’t be! Do they have that great of hearing? Well maybe, after all God created them. He could have splurged on them supersonic hearing powers!
The Moment
I was satisfied and filled with wonder and gratefulness for the experience. I was so happy that I woke up early but then it was as if God said to me, “You haven’t begun to see the beauty of the morning yet.” Then I left for my appointment and was overcome by the cold air. I regressed back to complaint mode and screamed…It’s May! Why is it still so cold! I made some moves, came out of the car to throw trash and waited for the car to warm up but I kept missing the bigger picture. It was as I drove off and my eyes veered to the left, that I saw it. The sunrise! I can validate my sulking because it was dreadfully cold, but the moment I saw the sun I forgot the freezing bit. As a matter of fact, I literally forgot where I was, who I was, my name, and my troubles. I felt so small and insignificant I simply was captured and drowned in the awe of the artistry, the colors, the gradient colors, the blend, and the transitions of orange, yellow and gold hues which only the Master Creator and Artist God could paint…Maybe this is why we can’t find enough words to describe the drama of the breaking of day so we summarize it with a simple three letter word: sun. Yet at that time, although the sun was not fully seen, what I saw was enough to convince me of its presence and what that meant for my day.
The Meaning
We all search for deeper meaning to life’s experiences. God designed us with that thirst to search, hoping that our searches would lead to Him. That morning I woke up spiritually and realized that nature is tied to the revelation of God and His word. Psalm 30:4,5 came back to my mind. It speaks about the end of our dark seasons and the joy which morning brings. Every pain will end sooner or later because when living a consecrated life in God, all our dark days will not be able to withstand the presence of the Son of God.
Psalm 30: 4, 5 (ESV)
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
My Prayer
This was my prayer in that moment.
“God! I praise you for the lessons for my life found in nature. I have witnessed that the cold will not stay at its most impactful place because the sun brings a counter-existence, bringing in the warmth. The dew will soon release its control on the ground and dry up from the presence of the sun, giving way to drier roads and foliage. The fog will not withstand the sun and will bow down to its power, splitting to reveal clear air and clear stars. Thank you Lord, for showing me your love through nature. Amen.”
Then I had to simply stop, exhale the complaints and rest in the realization that in my own life, I can have the same transformative experiences with the presence of Jesus, the Son of God. The same power the sun has on nature and temperature comes from the same power source, Jesus, who can bring light into my dark days. The night is never fully dark because of Jesus! No cold experiences could harden me, no dew can dampen my spirits, no fog can cloud my vision, absolutely nothing the night brings can remain when He rises in my life. His resurrection on that beautiful morning is the reason why!
My Gratitude
I am grateful for the morning but even more grateful for the early morning. If we sleep through this creation miracle, we miss the chance to experience fully the immense comfort and joy our entire body feels, the release of stress, the infusion of gratitude, the running away of depression and sadness, the all-important realization that there is someone bigger than our greater defeats and darkness. And He has and uses His power to end the darkness which Satan tries to unleash in our lives. Satan is a troublesome enemy, hoping that his trouble will end our joy, but I am so happy that God puts our troubles on notice in scriptures such as 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT) “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”
Our Call to Action
Jesus must live in our lives and must have total control of every season of our lives. We must veer our eyes to the bigger picture, and we must acknowledge His majesty. He rises in our lives every morning with grace waiting to cover our days and actions with HIs righteousness. So, when He rises, we rise with Him. Why? because His promises are true.
- He rises with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2)
- His glory pours down on us as He rises (Isaiah 60:1)
- His rising calls for us to awaken from the dead with the blessing of Christ shining on us (Ephesians 5:14)
- He understands our every movement and our ups and downs (Psalm 139:2)
- He rose guaranteeing our rise from death (Matthew 28:6)
- His mercy which we crave is full every morning and never ends (Lamentations 3:22-23)
- From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised. (Psalm 113)
- The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
When we rise early in the morning, we have the gift of more of the day to bask in the beauty of our Creator. I am not always able to accomplish this goal, but I do pledge by His grace to wake up early to experience the transitions of my darkness to light and warmth physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and spiritually.
May you trust Him even more.
May your courage through vulnerability birth good emotional, spiritual, and mental health.
May His love makes you soar.
