Woman to Woman: Hope in the Sunrise

There’s nothing quite like a winter sunrise. The colors seem incredibly vivid through the frosty air.

A canvas of colors shattering the darkness of every night; the sunrise of Hope greets every day, and no two sunrises are ever the same!

But for you who revere my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.”

Malachi 4:2

Many people prefer a beautiful sunset; but to me, Hope rises with the sun.

Walking many hard paths of suffering, enduring seemingly unending dark nights, endear me to those first rays of sunlight bringing the promise of a new day.

Even with the promise of a new year ahead, many of us bring trials and brokenness with us from previous years. Quenching any glimmer of Hope we thought we might find when the last days of 2022 slipped into 2023.

But remember, no matter how long the night, the sun always rises.

Despite the length of the nighttime hours, Hope comes in the promise of a new day. So it is with Jesus Christ; no matter how dark the journey, no darkness can quench the light of the Son.

My journey has been full of brokenness, full of suffering, but there’s something else, too: serenity, intimacy, joy. The unexpected gifts of the darkness; but gifts found as a result of realizing I was not alone.

Contrary to what I thought, God did not send me into the darkness, He went before me and invited me there, but not only that, He embraced me there.

Crazy right? Not the kind of invitation to which you are eager to RSVP!

Yet I found a way of wholeness, healing, beauty, and intimacy that can only be found in the dark.

When it seemed I lost my way, the voice of His Word showed me the way. When I asked He remove the darkness, He beckoned me deeper still into the treasures of the darkness.

When fearful, the voice of His Word gave me strength and courage. It was in the darkness I learned to breathe, rest, and listen. The darkness taught me to see with the eyes of my soul.

There in the darkness, I was fully known, heard, and loved.

And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness, secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the One who calls you by name.”

Isaiah 45:3

Much like deep darkness, suffering blinds me to the reality of God’s Presence.

Also, like darkness, suffering comes and goes, ebbs and flows; some suffering seems to be endless while some seems to resolve more quickly. So it is with the night; not one night is exactly the same length as another.

Of one thing we are sure, the night will fall, and the night will end.

So it is with suffering; make no mistake, it will come, but it will also end. The sunrise is our gift each day painted by God Himself reminding us no night will ever eclipse the sun.

The darkness cannot overcome the Light of His Presence; no suffering can quench the Light of the Son, for intimacy with Him is the Treasure of the darkness.

Every sunrise reminds me of the Hope I have in God’s goodness. I have no need to fear suffering and darkness because nothing can separate me from God’s Great Love.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow; not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below, indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39