Sunday, December 28, 2014

The Sun is Always Shining

The Sun is Always Shining
December 29, 2014
Psalm 118:24  "This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."

I appreciate uplifting people and their heart to encourage.  Encouragement is truly one of the Lord's greatest gifts, because everyone needs it and we seem to be in short supply.  I can even appreciate the people who try to encourage themselves, filling their own heads with motivating self-talk, an internal and emotional pep rally to continue on in life.  Encouragement can come in many forms and we seem to subscribe to it whenever we need it most, regardless of the delivery method.  It comes in the form of gentle words from a faithful friend, colorful sayings on wall hangings, or cute pictorials on social media with hand-selected Scripture verses.  Whatever the method, encouragement has been needed since the beginning of man.  There has always been a time of gloom in every person's life, a valid reason for needing encouragement.  The psalmist needed it and so he penned many words of encouragement, first and foremost for himself, and now for you and me to read.

One such encouraging word found in Scripture is pretty famous.  We've heard it in this fashion:  this is the day that the Lord has made so I will rejoice and be glad in it.    We quote it in order to pull ourselves up from the bootstraps when life is tough, determining to find a reason to be thankful while trying to stand tall under the little black rain cloud.  That particular psalm, though not really written like we seem to quote it, was written when the psalmist was recounting gloom yet looking forward to the moment of salvation.  The moment of salvation being the day that the Lord had made.  I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Psalm 118, not just the one isolated verse.  It is quite alright to quote it to yourself if you need encouragement, though, realizing there will always be tough days ahead as you look forward to spending eternity in Heaven with the Lord.  It is important to determine to be thankful and glad even in the moments of the little black rain cloud.

I've personally come to realize that no matter how rough the moment of now, the sun is always shining.  No, I am not an eternal optimist who always finds things to smile about.  I've just come to realize that the sun, the huge ball of fire in the sky is always burning strong, even when I cannot see it.  The warmth of the sun is always coming down; it just might be blocked by the situation of the earth.  The rays are continually bright, but sometimes dimmed or covered completely by the clouds.  In life, there will be new moments of clouds but the sun is still shining.  Realizing this is an opportunity to encourage yourself, that the moment of now is simply situational, not a permanent stance.  It may FEEL permanent, but according to the psalmist, according to the Word of God, there will be an end to our time of suffering on this earth.  Salvation is coming, in fact salvation is here.

Our days on this earth are numbered and yet we feel like they are an eternal sentence.  The sun is truly shining, even right now, though you may not be able to see it.  It is shining in the literal sense and shinning on your not-so-encouraging situation.  I challenge you to allow your heart to be encouraged this new year, not with blind optimism, but with the knowledge that whatever may come in life, it is only a moment of cloudiness with an eternity of sunshine ahead.  Know that in your daily life, you may not be able to fully see the sun, it is there.  In the moments of cloud cover keep vigilant watch for the rays of warmth that will push though the cracks, beaming down on your face.  If only for a moment in your situation, you can be encouraged that this sun IS still shining.  The reality of your situation is this:  if the Lord is truly Lord of your life, then your salvation is here despite your circumstances, despite the situation of the earth.  You have far more reason to have hope than despair.  Your life WILL have more days of sunshine than rain.  In fact, your life will have an eternity of sunshine.  I guarantee it.  This SON is always shining!

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Psalm 118, Col 1:5

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