Sunday Rising

Pavement Ends Ministry

Oct 1

It is Sunday morning. I'm scheduled to preach in a few hours. I get up early to begin my day with prayer and reading God's Word. The moon was in the dark stage last night, so as I sit on the back porch with my Bible and a cup of coffee, it is utterly dark outside. The sounds I hear are night sounds. Frogs and bugs are singing the songs that they have been given to sing. Two owls communicate over long distances about their night's work. As I sit and listen to the night sounds, it occurs to me that the darkest night is part of God's plan and it is always followed by the rising sun.

Indeed the darkness is already fading. The bugs and frogs have signed off for the night. The birds have begun to sing to the glory of God. In the eastern sky, the clouds begin to be a portrait in motion. They reflect the red and yellow colors from the sun that I cannot see yet. As I look to the east, a tiny glimmer of brightness breaks the horizon. Then with stately grandeur, the sun ascends above the tree line. Darkness has been driven away and the sun has risen.

Now, the sun rises every day and every day it is always beautiful. It never gets old because every sunrise is a new sunrise and every day is a new day. However, on the first day of the week, the rising of the sun is extra special because it reminds me of another Sunday. On that day, some women walked in the darkness listening to night sounds. They were going to a tomb to anoint a dead body. But they ran home in the light with the birds singing. These ladies had a message to share, " the darkest night has given way to the brightest day because the Son is Risen.

Now no matter how dark the night is, I will never be discouraged. I know that God sends the darkness so the Light will be magnified. The Son of God is the Light of the world. In Him is no darkness. Christ in me is my only hope of glory. Every day is a day that the Lord has made but no day is as great as the Lord's day and I will always rejoice to see "Sunday rising.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends