Sunshine In My Eyes Can Make Me Cry or The Power Of The Pause

I won’t say that he said it best, but John Denver sure did peg it when he sang of the sunshine on his shoulder making him happy and the sunshine in his eyes making him cry.  The sunshine on the water that looked so lovely and the sunshine almost all the time making him high?  I get it.

The other morning on the drive up to Boone, I got to witness this.  I wish my camera did it better justice but the beauty was there and this small reminder of it through this picture serves to lead into today’s (well, actually last night’s) study on the grandeur of God.

Steve and I were finishing up our study as we usually do by reading our responses to the passage we had read.  Usually he shares first but mine was so good (yes, I am patting myself on the back because...well, keep reading and you’ll see!) that I had to verbally express what my words were not containing before even asking him if he was ready to expound.  Without any further ado, here’s what I wrote:

Job 26 Job’s Frailty and God’s Majesty

“I am weak but Thou art strong.” Job knew his own mortality: not about the obvious truth that he wouldn’t live forever. I’m not writing about that.  What I mean is that Job knew he was a worm. In the grand scheme of life, he was nothing.  But God?  Oh indeed but God!

Job shares his awe of him to Bildad.  He tells of the dead and how they’re finally realizing just Whom they shall face when eternity begins.  The Great God Who created the heavens and the earth, yes, but oh the vastness that has yet to be mined by our finite minds!  I mean seriously, who but God could think of such details that make all things work together?  The clouds, the phases of the moon, the sun, and other weather events.  I cannot even begin to fathom them!

“These are the mere edges of His ways” verse 14 says, “And how small a whisper we hear of Him!”  

Just this morning I glimpsed a tiny bit of splendor as the light reflecting on the living room wall whispered to me that something spectacular was taking place outside.  I quickly grabbed my camera and, sure enough, there it was.  Magnificent clouds reflecting the brightness of the awakening sun.  It was beautiful.

But it didn’t last.  In dismay I saw the world creeping in, stealing this momentary partial view of God’s heaven.  Just a whisper, a preview of upcoming attractions, a hint of what is to come.  

“His power, who can understand?” asked Job.  

Not this ol’ gal.  But what it means to me?  It means “Open your eyes, dear girl. Open your mind and learn of Me.  I give you these appetizers so that you will hunger for more of Me.  Now My child, what will you do about it?”

Ahh, how beautiful the sunrises and the sunsets the Lord God Almighty makes available to me, friends.  However, He doesn’t push them down my throat nor sound the bell each day to notify me that they’re here.  Nope.  Instead--as He does with just about all of His wonders--He puts them out there to be noticed by those who are looking for them.  Some are physical, tangible, earthy treasures we can witness with our own eyes.  Others involve His human characteristics that are more noticeable in His children--if we’ll only take our eyes off of self and direct them their way.  

The ways God reveals Himself to us through nature and through mankind are unending and the rewards are ours, dear ones, if we’ll just take a moment to stop and smell the roses, observe the times and seasons, and as little children often say when something outstanding captures their attention, “Look!”  Look with the eyes of a child at the wonders around you but then, look with the eyes of one who already knows but has somehow neglected to practice what s/he has been taught.  Put away the former things and let God make all things new to you once again.  Amen?

Let’s pray!

Dear God, as another day has dawned, may the dawning of understanding be upon us all as we seek You first and just pause to take a moment to consider Your handiwork.  I often joke to Steve that he doesn’t know the power of the pause when he too often interrupts me as I use that moment to further consider what I am about to say.  May the power of the pause be instilled in our lives today, Father, as we enjoy and savor the desires of our souls being fulfilled through Your creation and through Your people.  I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.  Teach us to keep the interruptions at bay and just be still for a moment or two is my humble prayer.