We are all busy with all sorts of important and meaningful activities. I have been ill, unable to be busy in the usual ways, so one morning I watched the sun come up.
It was amazing, much more amazing than the photos show.
Colors glowing, slowly fading, and then shifting to echoes of themselves on distant clouds.
After a while of appreciating God’s greatness on display outside my living room window, I got impatient. I wanted the sun to come up. The colors were fading, the contrast between night and day was smudging away and, even though I am ill, there were things I wanted to do.
Eventually—and yet it was really just such a short time—the sun did come up, a glowing miracle of orange. And, of course, it was so bright I could no longer look at it even when it was only half way up. It was just too much, too great, too overwhelming.
Once again I realized that, despite all our technology and ability, we humans are so small compared to the world God has put us in!
Yet it pleases God when we puny people acknowledge what he has made and thank him for it. Some say that we were created to glorify him, and likely they are right. So perhaps, resting on my couch immediately after getting up yesterday morning, perhaps I was doing something very important just by watching the sun come up.
And, you know something? In watching God’s artistry, realizing that my Father is making that all and that I get to watch him at work, I was finding joy. Those who say we were created to glorify him tie that in with enjoying him—there is joy in doing what we were designed to do.
And my petty impatience with God’s timetable, even for the sun rising but also for difficult matters, is something to repent of and change. My Father, who continually designs new sunrises as the earth turns, certainly is able to manage all the hard things in my life, and he will, too, because he loves me.
May you, too, be able to thank God and delight in the beautiful world he has given us. May you, too, find comfort in his greatness and goodness.
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Hi Annie Kate! Hope you’re feeling better. Take care. X