Are You Ready For Some Sunshine?
Good Morning Friends,
I love those times of sunny days and crisp air but the rain too must have its time. The last few days we had a little tropical storm that has been blowing though South Florida. It was just rain and more rain and a few limbs down. It was like a stasis field around us yesterday. I felt we were in Noah’s Ark. As I woke this morning I remembered the hurricanes we have tracked and those that have hit us and missed us. For one of them I was concerned enough to board up the house when it looked like the eye would surround us in the middle of the night. I do not even remember the name of the storm but I do remember we lost electricity. We were in a box in the dark. Here the familiar paths in our home seemed unfamiliar in the dark. We had a rush of adrenalin in the black and still air and really wanted to break out into the dim light of the storm. Then we reached for the crank LEDs. They were not as bright as house lights but they did show us where to make the next step. It was about daybreak…time to get up. We immediately felt better when we got dressed and started seeing the light. Are You Ready For Some Sunshine?
Scripture: Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:11-14 (NRSV)
45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:45 (NRSV)
7Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
Ecclesiastes 11:7 (NRSV)
2the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,
Genesis 8:2 (NRSV)
6For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 (NRSV)
Message: Life is full of times of preparation and storms and in them God is often up to something to help direct us, inspect us, correct us, connect us, protect us, perfect us and project us. Sometimes storms can be a blessing in disguise preventing us from being harmed by something more serious. Here God acts like a surge protector sacrificing a little of our comfort in the interest of our character. Of course none of us have the power to prevent the day of our death. In this body, our lights go out. We are marked by temporality. We are like grass that grows and withers. Our days are numbered. So what do we do with the brief time we have? If we live as if we were in the middle of a storm we might learn to have a better sense of priority. Here we learn not to live in darkness. Here we learn to armor ourselves in light. Here, even as the storm comes we take off the frantic pace in our lives and put on the clothes for a new day. Here in the stillness we encounter God and here we notice our spouse and our children. We notice our family, neighbors and friends in new ways… in the light of love, affection, appreciation and encouragement. So today we are courageous. Today we live in the light with no regrets. Today we live in the hope for a new day. Today we put on Christ who tells us that we are destined to receive new life.
Pray we are challenged with a sense of urgency. Pray in the storms of life we seize the day God has given to us and rejoice and be glad in it. Pray we do not take our life or God’s light in it for granted. Pray we embrace each day as a gift. Pray we live like we were dying but with a sense of eternity that is near to us. Pray we take time to experience God. Pray we take off the pursuit of the good life and put on more time for relationships. Pray God brings His reign into our lives so that we might flourish. Pray we share in the restoration and relief that comes in sharing in the hope of God’s future kingdom and glory. Pray we see some of the beauty of God’s earthly reign even now as we rejoice in the miracle of nature, the restoration of life. Pray we weather life’s storms. Pray for showers of blessings and the light of a new day.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 