It was the first night of a women's retreat, a Speaking Ministry event for Quiet Time Ministries. Bible and notes in hand, I walked from my hotel room to the little chapel where I would be teaching later that evening. The message was foremost on my mind, prayers in my heart. But hanging from my shoulder was my little Sony A6000 mirrorless camera with a special Zeiss 16-70mm lens just in case something beautiful caught my eye along the way.
Jay Maisel, an award winning American photographer, says, "Always carry a camera, it's tough to shoot a picture without one."
So it was a delightful evening there in the mountains, and the sun was setting just beyond the trees. As I was walking along the path, I looked to my right and saw the golden rays of the sun glistening as it moved down towards the horizon. I stopped, lifted my camera, and began capturing images through the trees. When the sun is shining like this at sunrise or sunset, I always go to "aperture priority" and set it to f/22. That's a tip for you devotional photographers. This setting allows for a slight starburst effect, depending on the angle and capture of the sun. This capture was one of my favorites because the sun was still alive, but soon to go down behind the mountains, leaving an afterglow in its wake.
Reflecting later on the beauty of this sunset, I thought about how the experience mirrors certain seasons in our own life. Once the sun goes down, darkness moves in. And often, we can't see very far down the path when night comes. However, the sunset and impending darkness eventually give way to a sunrise.
I think we need to remember that truth when we experience dark nights of the soul in our lives. Here's a promise to hang on to in these times —
Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5
I am counting on God's promises. Peter, one of the Lord's great leaders in the church, closed his letter on suffering with a profound promise: "After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you" (1 Peter 5:10). The Lord has been encouraging me with the promises of His grace. And here we see that He is the God of all grace. His grace will bring our suffering to an end and strengthen and establish us.
In the midst of your fiery trials, remember there is a certain beauty in the sunset, and it is the glow of God's presence in your life. He is the God of all grace and will give you His strength and power to make it through. He is at work in you and He will bring a sunrise and an accompanying shout of joy in the morning.
I love these words from Mrs. Charles Cowman —
God knows that you can stand that trial; He would not give it to you if you could not. It is His trust in you that explains the trials of life, however bitter they may be. God knows our strength, and He measures it to the last inch; and a trial was never given to any man that was greater than that man's strength, through God, to bear it.
Mrs. Charles Cowman, Streams In The Desert
Count on your Lord and His promises today, and let the beauty of sunsets remind you of the dawn of a new day.
Dear Lord, today we look to you for beauty, light, and joy in the morning. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Blessings ♡ Grace
