A Benediction at Sunrise ... Praising our Glorious Creator

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak …
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. 
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
    It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.
Psalm 19:1-6 NLT

We are vacationing this week at Gulf Shores, Alabama. Our kids and grandkids have joined us at a beautiful, fun place along the coast.

Those of you who have followed A Branch in the Vine over the years know that I have a “thing” about sunrises. There is something about the freshness of the early morning, the aloneness of the hour, the silence and the focus — they all spell “God” to me.

So true to form, I had to experience sunrise on the Gulf. So this morning at 5:30am, I was on the beach tracking the sun’s journey from hidden to exploding with brightness.

The heavens truly do “proclaim the glory of God”…

In the moments leading into the actual breaking forth of the fiery sun-ball, there are constant changes in color, lighting, shapes, atmosphere.  No two moments are the same, just as no two sunrises are the same. And then when the sun bursts forth out of the horizon … wow! Glory indeed.

I can almost hear the benediction from the book of Revelation,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
. . .
“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Revelation 4:6,11 NLT

The sunrise this morning was awesome. And beautiful sunrises abound everywhere.  Even in Ohio where we live, the colors of the rising sun can often amaze us with its glory. And as we East Coast native sunrise watchers all know, nothing compares to sunrises over the ocean.  The straight line horizon of the ocean accentuates the glorious drama.

But as regular sunrise watchers know, many days we are disappointed by no visible glory.  The clouds, the rain, the fog, the haze may all obscure the rising of the sun.  No matter. We know the sun has still risen, often with a silvery beauty all its own.

How do we know the sun has arisen?  By faith.  We know the sun rises every day. And that's why I love all sunrises. Each one is a picture of the glory of God and His fresh mercies. At times they are hidden, to be received by faith. But at other times they are manifested clearly, even dramatically.

And so we can welcome each sunrise, each new day, as a gift—the blessing of another day of life from our glorious Creator God. And we can join the chorus,

“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
    to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
    and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Amen!