I love watching the sunrise. Seeing the night sky slip away into the gentle pink and yellow shades of morning is not only enjoyable, but also rejuvenating. The chill of the night air gives way to the warmth of the sun as its glorious rays dispel the darkened shadows. The dawn’s unfolding stimulates our hearts. And we can be thankful because each sunrise offers us something we’ve never had before – today.
Every today is a new beginning full of opportunity. A task you couldn’t accomplish yesterday, can be completed today. A problem hampering you yesterday, can be solved today. An ailment facing you yesterday, can be healed today. That prayer you prayed yesterday, can be answered today.
Each sunrise ushers in new possibilities for success. When we approach today with that attitude, we open the doors for victory in our lives. With God’s help, today can be the day of our triumph. Why not? Today is a perfect day for it!
Now, I’m not so naive as to think that today is always idyllic. Perhaps some challenges face us today that we didn’t have yesterday. Regardless, we can still maintain our positive expectations. Here is some advice I heard in a Bible teaching a few years ago: When something goes wrong, don’t ask “why?”. Instead ask, “What amazing thing is God going to do for me now?”.
There is one thing that does hinder us today, however. And that is our minds being stuck in yesterday. For various reasons, sometimes we just can’t seem to let go of yesterday. Perhaps, we perceive yesterday as safe and today as scary because of the unknown. Maybe we screwed up yesterday and we can’t get past that. Whatever the reason is, it most likely stems from being afraid. But it is not God’s plan that we live in yesterday. He intends for us to live in today. And He assigned yesterday the role of bringing us unto today, (which is an important role because we could not get to today without yesterday). But no matter what yesterday was, we are not supposed to live there.
So, here we are living today. The sun has risen, we are seizing our opportunities with positive expectations. The hours pass, and the sun becomes low in the sky. We take a break to watch the sunset.
Sunsets can be dazzling demonstrations of light and color. The gentle shades of sunrise are now vivid displays of yellows, pinks, reds, and oranges. The entire sky seems to burst into flaming brilliance as the sun slips closer the horizon, leaving a trail of remarkable color as the light begins to dissipate. The sunset gives us quiet peace. We can reflect on our day’s activities and be thankful for what worked or come up with ideas for what didn’t. We can thank God for His help and cast our remaining cares on Him. Today is winding down, but it isn’t over yet!
God’s handiwork continues by His filling the night sky with sparkling gems of light. I love the stars. There is never a time that I see them that doesn’t thrill my heart. My family even gave me a star as a gift. Somewhere out there is a star with my name on it. How exciting is that!
God’s very deliberate sprinkling of these beautiful dots of light in the night sky (that are so bright that we can see them from lightyears away) is a marvelous thing to behold. And of course – add in the glorious moon. The moon captures our dreamy attention whether it’s full and bright or just a sliver in the darkness. There is something romantic about moonlight.
The night sky gives us a restful calmness that helps us relax so we can lay down to sleep, knowing that this day will soon become yesterday, and our waking moments will bring a new today. And whether our waking moments are before or after sunrise, today is a new day filled with promise and possibilities. Today we can soar. Today we can win. Today we can rejoice. Today we can be thankful to God for all that He has given us.
1 Timothy 6:17b
…but (trust) in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.
You may have heard the term, “carpe diem”. It’s Latin and is commonly translated, “seize the day”. It’s good advice. We cannot change yesterday, and we cannot reach into tomorrow. We only have today. Let’s make today the best today ever!
Note to my readers: There is no limit to what God can do for you today! Thanks for reading!