Lessons Learned From My Morning Drive

The Lights In The Heavens

Published on by Joan

sun-picture

As I headed to work one morning, I saw the still full moon as it was setting in the west.  It was becoming very dim in the pale blue of a morning sky not yet fully lit with the sun.  I tried to take a picture of that sight but the photo could not adequately capture the waning light of the full orb.

In the opposite direction, the sun was brilliantly shining as it began to ascend in the horizon.  As I tried to look for oncoming traffic in the direction of the sun, I could see nothing else because of the brightness.  I had to block the sun with my hand, but still struggled to see.  And what I could see seemed to be just images with no color.

The more I thought about those two contrasting sights, several things came to mind.  I thought both the moon and the sun to be beautiful.  I love seeing a full moon illuminating a night sky.  But when I saw that same full moon very pale in comparison to the sun and the competing brightening of the morning sky, it caused a mixture of emotions.

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Monday Morning Blues

Published on by Joan

I am not a morning person. Not at all! And especially on Monday mornings, after an often very busy weekend, it is really hard for me to get up. This morning was no different.

I have a bad habit of looking down while I walk.  (I tend to be clumsy so looking down helps me avoid tripping over my own feet.)  And as I’m walking, I’m thinking of all I need to do instead of noticing the beauty of God’s creation around me. There have been times when flowers around my house have been in bloom for a while before I actually take time to notice them. I’ve been trying to make myself become more conscious of those things.

I have a 30 minute drive to my work location so I do have some time to be out a little bit before getting confined to an office for most of the day. I’ve been trying to get myself to notice the sky more during that drive. This morning I noticed the various shades of colors in the morning sky and how those colors changed the more the sun came up.

In the distance away from the sun, there were some low clouds that still looked grey. Then those greys began to change, with barely a tinge of pink before the various shades of blue slowly began to appear. The first shade of blue was still very pale, almost ashen. But gradually it became a soft baby blue that then blended into a translucent, watery blue. As the blue sky then became a deeper shade, the sun was rising above the horizon, revealing the full depth of a royal blue that seemed to awaken all the feelings of awe and splendor at the beauty of creation. Looking into the then solid blue that seemed fathomless changed my morning into a time of worshipping the One who is seated in the heavens and will one day return from that sky to take me home.

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” Psalm 36:5 (NIV)

“‘The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory.” Psalm 97:6 (NIV)

As I took in the wonders of the changing blue sky, I thought of how much my life can be compared to those changes. Sometimes I feel like I am covered with a cloud of oppression. Everything seems dark and empty. Those times are when I’ve distanced myself from God. Then I’ll start feeling a small dash of hope, a light tinge to the darkness, when I begin to lift my heart to the Son.

As I start looking toward that Light, my eyes begin to see more clearly the depth of His love. Then when I am fully gazing into His glory, a sight that is endless, my heart sings out with praise. I know that although I have completely given myself back to Him, and I am seeking to see all of Him that I can see, His mercy is as fathomless as the vivid blue of the sky.

It’s no wonder that the Psalmist spoke of the heavens in many of his hymns. Here are just a couple I really like.

Psalm 19:1-6 (NIV)

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;     the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech;     night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words;     no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,     their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,     like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens     and makes its circuit to the other;     nothing is deprived of its warmth.

 

Psalm 8:1-4 (NIV)

1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

 

When I finally got to my office after that drive, I was no longer dreading the morning. I still had that rush of emotions from seeing the changing sky and realizing how God created all of that just for us. I may still not be a morning person, but when I remind myself to keep looking for the Son, those Monday morning blues take on a whole new meaning.

Messing Up The Airwaves

Published on by Joan

I enjoy listening to Christian radio. I have a 35 minute ride each morning and afternoon to and from my office. Listening to the radio is a time of learning about God and a time of praising Him for who He is. Two stations I listen to a lot are Joy FM, a gospel music station, and a Bible Broadcasting Network which airs Wisdom For The Heart. On that station I enjoy listening to Dr. Stephen Davey’s sermons, which also can be found on the website, wisdomonline.org.

The problem with radio is the potential for static. Some days I can clearly hear what I want to listen to. Sometimes there is a little bit of static, but I can still hear. Other days the static is so bad that I cannot make out anything being said.  When the static is really bad, I’ve noticed if I try to change the station, most of the stations that are considered secular, still comes in clearly. When that happens, I just turn the radio off and enjoy the silence.

This morning was one of those days when there was some static, but not so much that I couldn’t keep listening. It was then that I had one of those “ah-ha” moments when I felt I had this static thing all figured out.

I recalled the verse in the Bible that refers to Satan as the “prince of the power of the air.” (See Ephesians 2:1-3) As a Christian, I know Satan loves nothing more than to distract God’s children from having a close relationship with our Savior. And since Satan is the prince of the air, it would make perfect sense for him to mess up the radio airwaves for Christian stations. (Some people may think I’ve really lost it now, but this is how my brain works.)

So how does this relate to our daily lives? When we are in a right relationship with Christ, we are in the position where we can hear Him clearly. We can hear Him speaking to us through His word, and we can feel His presence when we are praying and going about our day. There is no “static” there to keep us from hearing Him.

But when we have strayed from God, when we do not make spending time with Him a daily priority, we cannot hear Him as clearly – there’s some static there. And if we have really fallen away, or have not yet accepted Christ as our Savior, all we can hear clearly are secular things. That’s when our “station” is turned away from God and onto worldly things.

But what about the silent times? There are times when I feel that God is silent. I read His word and I pray, but I still can’t seem to hear Him. But I have found that if I am faithful to continue pursuing that relationship with Him, I will soon hear Him once again.

So sometimes we are blessed to be able to have a clear reception of God and at other times, we have to struggle to hear. I think we need to realize that yes, sometimes the problem is that Satan is attacking, but many times we, ourselves, are the reason we can’t hear God’s voice. If we turn away from God, we are causing our own “static.” I hope you feel as I do when I say, I don’t want to do anything that messes up the airwaves between me and God.