Don’t Turn Your Back to the Sunset

Okay, so today’s post may make me sound a bit strange, but just bear with me and I’ll explain what a sunset has to do with anything.

This thought began the other night when I was at my sister’s house. We were standing in her driveway talking when she glanced over my shoulder and said, “Oh, what a pretty sunset.”

I turned around to see for myself, and my sister chuckled. “Here we’ve been ignoring it,” she said. “Maybe you can write a post about that.”

She was right. Because it reminded me that when we keep our back to the sunset, we’ll always miss the blessings.

You see, when the night begins to fall, it’s easy to focus on the darkness. Especially since night means our day is ending. We begin to stress out about running out of time to complete our to-do list. Or maybe we get caught up in worry over driving at night. Or maybe we know we’re going to have to leave the company of others and go home alone.

Whatever the darkness beckons, we get so caught up in watching it creep up on us, that we miss the beauty in it. And there is beauty.

Ecclesiastes 3:11a says, He hath made every thing beautiful in his time. But we’re often so focused on our own timing that we miss it. We get caught up in our lives (or our conversations, as was the case with my sister and me) and miss the beauty that God has surrounded us with. And we turn our backs to the sunset and miss His blessings.

And the sunset isn’t just a blessing, it’s a promise, too. That glimpse of beauty and light as the world goes dark reminds us of God’s promise in Romans 8:28. And though the sun may set for a time, it always rises in the morning.

Do you see? The darkness never lasts, whether it’s in the sky or in our own lives. As it says in Psalm 30:5a, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

And there is joy in the morning, whether you’re awake early enough to watch the sunrise or you awaken to the full light of a new day. The darkness is gone. But just like life, the darkness will eventually return, and if we’re not careful, we’ll focus more on the night than the morning. As I said in my post Just a Thought: Let Go of the Spoon, we focus so much on what God is taking away that we fail to realize He’s making room to give us more.

How does that relate to a sunset? Well, God takes away the daylight to make room for the sunset. To magnify the beauty. We wouldn’t appreciate the sunset so much if it wasn’t for the splash of color against a darker background, would we? And would a sunrise be as beautiful if the light didn’t push back the darkness?

If nothing else, it’s a reminder of God’s Son. When He died on the cross, all seemed lost. But then on the third day, He arose. Darkness could not hold back the Light, could it? Even in that dark moment, there was beauty. Because Christ’s sacrifice meant we could live. And though Jesus’ mother and friends mourned Him, their sorrow didn’t last forever, did it?

Sorrow only lasts for a time. Even the sorrow of this world. Because while here we may struggle, in heaven, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).

So instead of watching the night encroach and take over the day, turn around and look at the sunset. There’s always beauty to be found, even in darkness. And darkness doesn’t last forever.