"Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day." (Genesis 1:3-5 NASB1995)
In the creation account, God turned on the lights. On that first morning, He set the sun and moon into motion. Every day since, He brings the morning forth. The darkness recedes when He cues the sun.
Years ago in church camp, we sang a chorus that velcro-ed itself to my soul: “From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised.” There were hand gestures, of course, and three decades later, I can still recall them. Some childhood experiences are formative.
I saw a myriad sunsets over the lake in those blissful summers, and quite a few sunrises, too. It was easy to love God at camp: we began and concluded each day with scripture, we made new friends every week and my siblings stayed home. 🙂 I’ve since discovered, it’s tougher to love under the cloud cover of daily life.
Even still, a sunrise or sunset will give me significant pause. I often drop what I’m doing when the sky goes orange. I’ll run out the door mid-dinner prep, sprinting into our back field to get a better view of the masterpiece unfolding. No two edge-of-day experiences are exactly the same. Even if the clouds impede my perception, the glory of God is on display somewhere, and He deserves the praise all the same.
"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised." (Psalm 113:3 NASB1995)
Lord, today we acknowledge that You are still separating the light from the dark in our life. Sometimes the clouds keep us from seeing what Your accomplishing, but we can trust in the glory going forth. Let today’s sunrise and sunset remind us anew of Your faithful nature. May we remain careful to ascribe You the glory all day long. Amen.