The Sun's Story

I find myself smack dab in the span of a few years of constantly going.  The Lord has called me to amazing things by asking me to teach during the school year and work at camp in the summer.  Every day I am in awe of the places that He has led me and the people He has crossed my paths with.  I have been given blessing after blessing. I've also felt more drained than I ever knew I could and like I've been at the end of my abilities.  The only reason I say any of this is to make it clear that I don't even have the words to express just how good God is—His provision over the past few years has been miraculous.

He is writing a story.  A story through me.  A story through you.  A story through His children—His church.  What part of the story do you find yourself in?  Is it a mountain?  Or maybe even a valley?

The past few weeks God has been reminding me of His amazing faithfulness.  One of the mornings the last week of camp I was reading Psalm 19, which has been one of my favorites and always challenges me.  It always reminds me how much better creation can sometimes be at declaring the glory of God—it always tends to "put me in my place"—until I forget and need to be reminded again.  This particular time reading it God really started to point out part of verse 4 and 5:

"Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy." vs. 2-5

I started to think about the sun "running its course with joy".  One of the times the sun seems the most "joyful" to me is at sunrise—with that thought I went on with my day.  It wasn't until heading to life guard later, that one small incident set me to feel like I was at emotional rock bottom.  I was so drained and one incident was all it took—I felt completely at the end of my abilities.  To be honest I was extremely thankful I was wearing sunglasses to hide the tears that were quickly welling up.  All I could think about was how I was stuck on the dock for the next two hours, when I felt like I could barely hold it together.  But, God.  He is so sweet and He met me in that moment.

He reminded me of the sunrise and that the sun was running its course with joy.  He started to give me the revelation that I was looking at it all wrong.  I was thinking of the joy He could give me in my own human, finite, earthly perspective.  You see, I was thinking of the sunrise as something I was allotted once a day.  But He reminded me that His ways are so much higher than my own perspective.  The sun is literally always rising.  As I sit here typing this at 7:40 at night the sun is rising somewhere.  The sun is always running its course with joy and so can I.

In that moment He reminded me of the verse I was so used to quoting and hearing in Lamentations that says:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

For whatever reason I always get caught up with the "new every morning" part.  In that moment God made it clear to me that they never come to an end—it's not a matter of getting to the end of the day and saying "Oh, I really need the morning to come for my daily allotment of mercies."

He was telling me, "No!  I'm so much greater than your perspective of morning.  Than your perspective of my mercies.  You receive mercies not because it's morning, but because I am merciful."

His reminders are literally written across the sky as the sun runs its course!  He is so faithful to provide mercy.  To provide joy.  Psalm 30 says:

"Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.  For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning...You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!" Vs. 4-5, 11-12.

Again, He whispered to me, "It's not the morning that does it, it’s the Maker—I give joy.  Rest in me and find joy, my child."

He is good.  He is provider.  He is love.  He is the one that calls you.  He is the one to see you through the calling.  And even the calling after that.

This past week I was driving and though it wasn't raining, God gave me a glimpse of what I thought to be a rainbow in the distance.  I was listening to the song "Do It Again":

"I know the night won't last

Your Word will come to pass

My heart will sing Your praise again

Jesus, You're still enough

Keep me within Your love

My heart will sing Your praise again

Your promise still stands

Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness

I'm still in Your hands

This is my confidence, You never failed me yet."

And in the moment the thought of His promises and His faithfulness hit me like an overwhelming flood.  He told us in Genesis:

"This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh..."

He remembers.  He remembers His covenant, His promises.  He remembers and He is so faithful.

I look back at the past few years and I am in awe of the miraculous things that I have seen.  Children coming to Christ, chains broken, lives transformed, prayers answered, conflict resolved, the Body strengthened.  Amazing fruit has poured out through His callings and the outworking of His Spirit.  And even in the moment(s) that felt like rock bottom, He was so sweet and faithful to show up.  To show up in the sun running its course with joy.  To show up in a picture of a rainbow—the evidence of His promise.

I want to tell my story, not because of anything I have done—but to proclaim what He has done.  It is so incredibly clear to me that I could not have worked in the capacities I have at school or camp without Him providing every moment.

Know that whether you find yourself on a mountain or in a valley, He is writing a story.  A story that will proclaim just how mighty and faithful He is.  Disclaimer: He wins the battle.  Don't wait for the morning to feel the weight of His mercies and His joy.  Draw near.  Draw near to the Maker and He will always provide.