June 19, 2013

Psalm 19:1-6  — The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The thought for this devotional was inspired by a comment Myra made as we were driving away from church one evening, and saw one of our beautiful Florida sunsets. She commented on the rising and setting of the sun, and it put one of my favorite Psalms into mind.

Usually the Bible has a remarkably scientifically accurate view of natural processes, but Psalm 19 really has a man-centered view of sunrise, sunset … It is the darkest moment, far into the night. We see the first glimmer of light. “Look”, we say, “the dawn, the sun is rising.” As day goes by we see the sun rising, and we bask in it’s warmth. Evening comes, and if it is the right kind of day, God paints His glory in the skies. “Look”, we say, “night is falling, the sun is setting.” The language we use reflects the way we see things — our point of view. We are the fixed point, and the sun is turning it’s face to us, moving past, and then moving away. The reality is, we have come to know, very different. The sun is more or less fixed in relation to our point of view on any given day. It is the earth — it’s us — that is rotating. We turn our face to the sun, we move through time, and we eventually rotate so that we are not facing the sun.

So what’s the application? why did this come to me as a “devotional” thought?

Have you ever felt God turn his favor away from you — go “cold” on you? Or have you felt that blessed warmth as He turns back to you, and favors you once again? How can that be? God does not change — “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” If God does not change, what is happening? The world doesn’t revolve around us. We are not the center! God never turns from us — we turn from Him. He never turns back to us. We turn back to Him — it’s called repentance.

If you’re in the sun, keep your face pointed in the right direction. If your feeling the cold — change your point of view!