Breakfast Sunrise!

November 3, 2022

Breakfast Sunrise!

Some days just don’t go the way we had hoped.  Some days leave us hurt or angry or sad.  Some days leave us with an unexpected disappointment or yet another cry of desperation.

And there are some days that awaken us with painful news.  Towards the end of last week, my wife and I received a text informing us that her sister’s husband died in the night.  Although he had lived with cancer for several years, his passing is still very difficult.  He was only 71 years old.

As I sat at the kitchen table watching the sunrise through the patio door, I was reminded there is hope and joy and things yet to be done.  Although things may not be easy right now, through faith in Jesus, the love of friends, and some effort on my part life can be filled with love and peace and joy today!

For me, a sunrise is a symbol of our hope in Jesus.  It was at sunrise that Jesus was raised from death in a grave to life forever.  And yet, there are still some difficult days for all of us.  The author of the Book of Lamentations expresses the pain we endure as well as the hope we have through faith in Jesus.

In Lamentations 3:19-24 we hear;

“The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall!
My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’”

A lot of things were wrong for that person.  And yet, in every morning he held onto the hope of the Lord God’s love and mercy for him as well as faithfulness to him.  One symbol of the hope and joy we have in the Lord God is the sunrise each morning.

In Psalm 30:5 we hear the promise.  The Psalmist writes; “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  It is a promise of God that is worth saying every morning…even if life is not going well for you right now.

It is no accident that Jesus was raised from death to life in the early morning.  The sun is just rising on the horizon, the Roman soldiers stand guard outside the tomb, and the world is sleeping.  In that moment, Jesus is raised from death to life.  As the Psalmist wrote; “…joy comes in the morning.” 

Jesus’ suffering and betrayal did not win.  The ridicule and abandonment Jesus experienced did not conquer.  Jesus’ imprisonment and death did not defeat.  There was still the power of Jesus’ love to change lives.  There was still the hope that comes through faith in the Lord.  There was still another chance at life and love.     

In Luke 24:1-2 we hear the report; “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they (some women) went to the tomb (Jesus’), taking the spices that they had prepared.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb…” 

Early in the morning, the pain and suffering as well as the helplessness and hopelessness we experienced yesterday can be wiped away by Jesus.  As the sun begins to break over the horizon and peek through the trees in our back yard, I see the promise of God again.  I remember…

Jesus’ love comes in the morning!

The Spirit’s joy comes in the morning!

The Father’s mercy comes in the morning!

The Lord’s faithfulness comes in the morning!

The breakfast sunrise this week reminds me that my hope comes in Jesus!  When I believe my hope is in the Lord, my heart will fill with delight.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug

P.S.  Take a moment tomorrow morning to give thanks to Jesus for a friend.  And then, invite them to join our blog community.