Ode to a Sunrise
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." - Psalm 19:1
This morning started like any other. I stumbled into the kitchen half asleep as I walked toward my electric kettle to pour myself a cup of tea (Earl Grey, of course). But there was something different. Instead of the cold light of the LEDs under the microwave, there was a strange pink hue emanating from between the shutters of the living room windows.
“That’s weird,” I thought to myself. Grabbing my mug, I moved to the front door, a little more awake thanks to the curiosity churning in my brain. When I quietly opened it, I was stunned. The gorgeous sunrise pictured above cannot properly convey the awe I felt when I first saw it.
“Oh, man! I have to show this to people!”
This beautiful act of nature stirred my heart more than it normally would. My life has gone through some pretty big changes lately. I’ve switched my prayer time to mornings instead of evenings, for one. Yes, yes, I know I should always be praying. But if I make an effort to ensure I do so at a scheduled time, I’m way less likely to forget to do it. And…by the end of the day, I fall asleep before I can say “amen.” There are some other things as well that I’ll leave for another time, but all in all, 2024 is off to an interesting start for sure.
We’ve written a lot here about how we get busy, overwhelmed, and tired. The three of us who contribute to this blog are all working women of different ages and life stages. It’s no secret that’s a common theme of many of our pieces, but we still try to ensure we don’t sound too repetitive.
There was just something about this sunrise I witnessed that immediately made me forget everything else going on around me. It’s always baffled me that people can look at acts of nature and still believe there is no God. No creator. This just happens. Please don’t misunderstand me – I am also a staunch believer in the idea God gave us the minds we have to study the sciences that help draw us closer to grasping how the natural world works. I do not believe the two – the “unfathomable” divine and the “rational” logical – cannot coexist. As a matter of fact, I like to think of God as the ultimate professor of the sciences!
As strange as it sounds, I’ve often found something is comforting in not knowing. Do I need to comprehend why and how a sunrise occurs to find it stunning? I’d say no. I’m sure I could Google it and find out, but why should I? Why can’t I just take solace in its warm glow and the promise of the new day it brings?
I’m certainly not saying we should take this approach to all things in life. I think when we search for answers in our Bibles, ask questions of our pastors, and pray for the Lord to reveal His truths to us, it’s all very important spiritual work. But I also think it should be tempered with basking in the peace of His presence.
There’s SO much debate involved in theology (a class I am currently taking), and it’s important to give our brains a workout in attempting to understand God. But that’s all it will ever be – an attempt. We cannot grasp everything there is to know about the master of the universe, and I think we are kidding ourselves if we believe, for example, that we’ll ever fully comprehend even a single book of the Bible. Yes, we can study it our entire lives and still glean a new point of view of God’s character. It is most definitely worth our time and effort to “…meditate on it day and night…” (Joshua 1:8). But it’s kind of like reaching out in faith to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe (Matthew 9:20-22). It’s only scratching the surface.
All of this is to say it’s a worthy endeavor to keep seeking Him. In His time, He will reveal to us what we need to know. But don’t let the fear of “I’m not smart enough to grasp what the Bible is trying to tell me,” or, “I’ll never really get what He’s trying to say here” stop you from appreciating the beauty of the psalms, the wisdom of the proverbs, or the important cultural context of the books of law. There’s so much waiting to be discovered, and going into it with an intent to appreciate versus a requirement to understand immediately will provide you with the same kind of comfort as a gorgeous sunrise.
