Hidden Beauty
I love where I live. I love getting to see this type of beauty each day.
Tonight a thought struck me: how often do I see nightfall as beauty disappearing? But if I stop and think about it, the beauty doesn’t disappear just because I can’t see it. Beauty is still all around me even when it’s covered in darkness. I think it’s amazing the way God paints the sky as the last thing I see at night AND the first thing I see in the morning. I can look to this same spot when it’s pitch black outside and recall what is there because I’ve seen it and seen the beauty that surrounds it.
And tonight it also struck me that the same is true about God’s presence. His presence when I’m in a season of life where it’s easy to see and recognize His hand is no different than His presence when I’m in a season surrounded by darkness. He promises to never leave me nor forsake me, and if I remember how I saw His hand in the easy season, I’ll remember He’s still there.
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.””
Lamentations 3:21-24 ESV
If I’m completely honest, I’ve been like Jonah fleeing in the opposite direction of Nineveh far more times in my life than I’d care to admit; sensing God’s direction, but instead choosing to follow my own tightly held plans.