God called the Light Day

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And 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, the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5 ESV)

The sun has been painting the clouds pink during the warm afternoons we had this November. The exception was yesterday when the day slipped away behind sheets of rain. Cloud crystals have been picking up the reflection of the scarlet star shining. I looked up at cotton candy clouds as dusk fell, another day rolling away into night.

When I was a child, I always colored the sun yellow. But I noticed lately, that the sun is bright white---so bright I must have guessed it yellow when I was a child.

Sunrise comes earlier now that we turned back our clocks. I don’t usually get up to watch for it. I wish I were eager for the day to begin. Instead, I am so grateful the sun rises slowly and doesn't appear suddenly with a flip of a switch.

I love the gentle rhythm of day and night. That rhythm is a gift I have always known, but rarely acknowledge as such.

In the evenings the sun sits still while the earth turns to give the other side of the world a day in the sun. “And there was evening and there was morning,” another day. Showers of blessing, the sun never stops shining.

God could have done it another way. The Trinity chose to set the world rotating, spinning. Every person gets a dose of sunshine everyday. Though I realize it's either shorter or longer for those who live closer to the earth’s poles. The sun's kiss is long or short depending on time and place.

The darkness has it’s own beauty---- but I don’t want to live in the darkness. I have learned to rest in its embrace, to turn the light off in peace. I used to lie down with the past and the future on my mind. Both are out of my hands. I place them in the Hands of the One who holds all things together. I've learned to trust. And I fall asleep in the arms of Love.

Today I haven’t struggled with anything difficult, not yet. But I have lived days with the shades down, hiding in darkness. I didn’t want to be exposed in the light of day. God shone his light there and brought me hope. 

How very grateful I am for this day. I praise the Lord God who called it good. Only He knows if I will get another.

Someone out there is struggling in the midst of this day. Is it you? Can I encourage you while it is today? God loves you. You are beautiful in his sight. He will forgive your sins and heal you from the sins meant to hurt you.

Be encouraged you are not alone when you hide in darkness. He is there. God doesn’t need the light of the sun to see. He is the Light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 NIV)

Will you believe God loves you, because He does. He proved it when Jesus came to be the Light, to show us the Way out of the darkness. He died and rose on the third day. Because of his gift, our days stretch into eternity.

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:12-13 NIV) 

Don’t believe sin’s lies. Not today.