“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:” (Ge 1:14 AV)
I know this may sound simple, and it isn’t very complicated, but praise the LORD for the absolute and predictable. The ordinances of heaven were the first of God’s creation. He created time and then the celestial bodies to govern time. Days, months, years, centuries, and millennia are all governed by the movement of the cosmos. The sun rises and sets. The moon changes her light. The planets revolve around the sun. The universe is in constant and unalterable motion. We have seasons and times appointed because God set in His heavens that which measures all things. Life may have unpredictable changes, but the sun comes up in the morning. The earth rotates on its axis and orbits the sun once a year. The stars rotate as the earth moves and measures times and seasons. Time is something that does not change. There are sixty seconds in a minute. Sixty minutes in an hour. Twenty-four hours in a day. And 365 days in a year. I am truly thankful God set in the heavens something that is as absolute as He is. The sun rising in the morning is testament to God’s sovereign control over all things He has created. It is the constant to which we can focus that gives us faith that God is greater than we could ever comprehend.
Sunrise is a very special time for me. I am a morning person. I like getting up early enough to see a beautiful sunrise. Especially if I rise before the birds do. I have seen countless sunrises. Being a hunter and fisherman, sunrises were common to me. Working the third shift meant I could take my last break at sunrise and watch the color of the morning sky. There is something about a sunrise that is comforting. No matter how the night went, the sun still rose. The day still came. Storms could not stop it. The trembling earth could not frustrate it. The sun came up, and the stars went away. There is a brief moment when all three; the sun, moon, and stars are skyward. This time is very brief. It doesn’t last long. That is the time I enjoy the most. For a few minutes, the soul can witness all the celestial bodies which the LORD has placed to assure time continues unabated by the unpredictable events of life. As long as the celestial bodies continue, so too will man. As long as the sun rises, life will go on. Sitting in a deer stand at the break of day is something else. As the woods come alive with birdsong and scampering critters, the world is as it should be. My troubles are lost in the predictable nature of God’s creation. If God can make the sun rise and the chipmunk scamper every day of the year, then surely He can take care of me.
Life is but a vapor and has Job states so eloquently, his days are full of trouble. General truths are predictable. We know we are born and die. We know we will be married, raise a family, work a career, and then fall ill and pass. We know we will have a roof over our head, we will sleep every night, our cupboards will have food and there will be raiment on our backs. We will get taller and then shrink. We will be faster in our youth and slow down as we age. Part of maturing is accepting life as it generally is. Our days are full of trouble. There is no escaping that. Our days will be filled with sickness, unemployment, relationship issues, unplanned expenses, and more doctor's visits than one can count. Yet no matter how difficult life can be, the sun still rises. The clouds still pass. Rain, sunshine, snow, and changing leaves will still come and go. The ordinances governing bodies to set the limits of God’s dispensational plan. Time measures God’s map. Time is what God set in place for change. When the day is done, a new one dawns. Each year sees events in God’s plan unfold. But time is absolute. So, the next time you see a sunrise early in the morning, remember that is God is control. It is one of an infinite manifestation of God's sovereignty that brings security to the soul. As sure as the sun will rise, we say. Why? Because God is always in control.
No comments:
Post a Comment