Glorious Sunrise

On my way to work this morning, I was mesmerized by the beautiful sun rising before me. The sky had taken on a pinkish-orange hue, but the sun was pure gold. It was just bright enough that it didn't hurt my eyes to gaze at it. It was one of those moments where everything else around you seems to fade into oblivion. It was so breathtaking, I didn't want to look away. I knew that God had painted this celestial scene for me this morning; a divine "I love you" and "good morning" spoken without the use of words.

It is times like these that I cherish and that refresh my soul when it seems to be parched. I wonder how many people fail to witness the magnificent beauty of the sunrise every morning. It is too easy to live our lives running to and fro without ever taking a pause or even a breath to see the creation that God has created right before us. There is no denying that God clearly reveals Himself through His creation.

The Message version of Romans 1: 19-21 reads, "But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse.What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand."

They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand...that phrase brings tears to my eyes. How many times do I fail to recognize the blatant presence of God even in the small, seemingly insignificant moments of my day? How many times do I inadvertently cheapen blessings from God by not realizing they are directly from Him? Worse yet, how many times do I run from His Holiness and pursue counterfeit happiness? We will never find true joy apart from knowing God and living for Him. I fear that lesson will be a lifelong challenge for me. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love; here's my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

God is right before us providing everything our souls could ever want, yet we continually walk away. Is He not worth it? Is He not enough? Is He not who you thought He'd be? He is not a cosmic Wizard of Oz where a phony little man hides behind a curtain deceiving you. He is the real deal.

He causes the sun to rise every morning, and He alone gives you a new breath every few seconds. Embrace Him, embrace the reality of Him!