Last Sunday evening it just so happened that our church service ended before the sun went completely down for the night. I was riding into town with my mother and I was so grateful to be able to see this:
What beauty! What wonder! What a majestic portrait of God's grace.
And this was sort of how our conversation went.
Mom: I wonder what it would look like if you were in a plane? ya know...Up close to it? Wonder if you could see the colors more vividly?
Me: (skeptically & thoughtfully) No...probably be too bright up there. Sun would probably wash out the vividness of the color scheme. May not be as beautiful from up there, looking around it, as it is looking up at it from down here.
Mom: Yeah, maybe so. You're probably right.
Me: ...but, hey, that just goes to show....there's beauty even while "under the clouds"....and in some cirucumstances there IS more beauty under the clouds than when above them.
And Mom smiled.
It is true, ya know. At least I believe this to be true. It's in the near-dark moments of life (or even the blackest of moments) that the warmth and light of God's grace enriches us and causes us to see more clearly through the darkness.
I've been living through a circumstance for quite some time now. LIVING THROUGH. Not just merely surviving. But living. By God's grace I have somehow been able to see the beauty of the trial, rather than continually looking upon the grayness (and sometimes, blackness) of it.
The clouds may not move in the sky, but from east to west the sun daily moves. The "cloud" of my life has not moved, but the Son, Jesus Christ, daily moves upon me. He overshadows me in merciful love. God moves in my life and in each new day He gives me beauty for ashes, strength for pain. Courage for fear. In my loss I have gained so much.
Just because things are a bit dark doesn't mean that we can not have beauty in our lives. God gives beauty for ashes. You see, in order for all the inhabitants of earth to see this beautiful sunset last Sunday evening, we had to look up, through the clouds, to view its wonder. Look up, not around or below. I was below the clouds, they were above me. Yet, upon looking up, through the cracks of them, there was such beauty that at least two occupants of the earth were in awe and nearly held their breath for a few seconds. Trials can work much the same way. Thats just how God works in even the worst of circumstances too!
NIV says Psalm 65:8 like this: The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.
He can work such wonder that, for a moment, it takes our breath away. He who formed majestic mountains, the lucious meadows, and the deepest of valleys is worthy of praise. He calls us to sing through our pain. And if the melody just won't come out of our mouth, He understands. He listens to our trusting heart, and holds us as we cry and sings over us. By the spoken word of His tongue, He forms all things and He stills all things. He stills the turmoil of nations and He stills the lonely, broken heart. Truly He is the awesome God and He works everything for good.
He answers our every petition with awesome, righteous deeds. His ways are altogether right! And, we are filled with all GOOD THINGS of His house. Good things. Those who are brought near (and into) His courts are truly BLESSED! He calls us to sing, not to complain.
So my praise awaits the Lord, my Most High. He is my strength. He gives joy for mourning. He has forgiven all my trangressions and, daily, He honors me with His presence. There is nothing like being immersed in the presence of the King of kings.
Our God is the HOPE for all the ends of the earth. Dare to be the quil in His hand that brings HOPE, BLESSING, and JOY to someone else's life-story! Allow Him to use you for His glory. For you never know what clouds are over-hanging another's life.
And remember, with every sunset there awaits a new dawn.
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