Back to the Sunrise

-

This morning I woke up at 5:45am so I could walk to the beach to watch the sunrise. I almost went back to sleep, but I felt God nudging my spirit to wake up and get out to the beach. We’ve never been to Oak Island before, so I just went to the closest beach access and found a little spot to sit. I had the entire beach to myself. As I awaited the estimated sunrise time, I began to realize that the sky was being filled with beautiful colors behind me. I kept waiting but my view, while beautiful, still showed a darker sky with just hints of color and light.

Apparently, since we’re vacationing on an island, I picked the wrong side to watch the sunrise. I plan to go to the other side tomorrow but as I sat there this morning, God reminded me that even when I can’t see it, the sun still rises. I didn’t get to watch the actual sunrise, but I did see and feel the effects of it.

As the entire sky began to light up and the temperature increased, I thought about the different situations in my life where I don’t have a full view of what God is doing but I can still rest in the truth that His love never fails, and He continues to be faithful. In the lives of others, when I reflect on the past, and even in the things I typically take for granted, I get glimpses of His work in my life, and I can trust that He isn’t done yet.

I am currently in the middle of a waiting season in several areas of my life. As I watch my mom battle cancer, work through difficult relationship issues, and seek God’s guidance and provision for the next step for Not Forgotten Ministries, I can’t see the full picture yet. But I wait in hope because I know goodness is coming and my God is trustworthy.

Today, even if it feels you have your back turned toward the sun, I hope you’ll take a moment to remind yourself that it rose this morning, even if you didn’t see it. I hope you’ll also allow yourself to the remember what the sunrise looks like and feel the effects of it as the temperature warms your skin. You will see the sun rise again but until then, you can wait in hope and rest in God’s faithfulness.

 "Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." 

Lamentations 3:23 NLT


 Tori

Comments

Post a Comment

Please take the time to leave an encouraging message

Popular posts from this blog

Please don't give me a wedgie!

-
Image
 Would you believe me if I told you that life with 3 boys is wild??  You probably would, huh? I'm telling you, just an average Wednesday night in the Shaw household is full of all sorts of craziness! I did hear a first tonight though!  Bryan was wrestling with the boys and suddenly Dylan starts yelling "Please don't give me a wedgie!" Now by those words, you would assume that he didn't want a wedgie but the way he was shaking his booty in front of Bryan and laughing, proved that he really did want a wedgie! HA! Then, of course, Evan and Tyson started saying, "Please don't give me a wedgie!" (One in English, one in toddler language) So we had three little boys running around shaking their tail ends and begging for wedgies.  There. Is. Never. A. Dull. Moment. As you can see from this picture above, they got their wedgies! They thought it was hysterical! And I just had to show you the picture below, just to give you an id
Read more

Psalm 84: 11-12

-
Image
For the  Lord   God is a sun   and shield;      the  Lord  bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold      from those whose walk is blameless.  Lord  Almighty, blessed  is  the one who trusts in you Psalm 84: 11-12 I've been pondering Psalm 84:11-12 for a couple of weeks now. It has become one of my favorite verses. After really digging into this verse on my own and in Bible study this morning, I feel like God speaks volumes through these 38 simple words.  God is a sun and a shield. Like the sun, God provides for us, nourishes us, and is always present. The sun provides hope with each new day, just as God gives hope in even the worst situation. Like a shield, God protects us and gives us security. We can hide behind Him and feel safe. But, a shield does no good just laying near by. It only protects when picked up and used appropriately. The same is true with God. If we don't acknowledge Him, if we don't get to know Him, if we don'
Read more

Beauty from Ashes

-
Image
I have heard the term "beauty from ashes" a thousand times in the past week. It wasn't the first time I 've heard the term but I've always just brushed it off. Since I've heard it so much lately, I decided to pay it some attention.  So here we go... The Bible says in Isaiah that God will give us beauty instead of ashes. In Biblical times it was the custom for people in great times of mourning and difficulty to lay down in ashes. Just imagine this...you’ve got a big problem in your life so you just lay down in a pile of dirty ashes. There is absolutely nothing beautiful about this scenario. So where does the beauty come from? Can ashes really be turned into something beautiful?   Scripture says that God is able to take the situation that burdens you or causes you pain and turn it into beauty. He can pick you up out of the ash pile of life and make something beautiful out of you. The Hebrew word for ashes is epher and the Hebrew word for beauty is pheer. Just m
Read more