What is it about sunrise that is so inspirational and motivational? Why did David write that “joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5)? Why did Jeremiah say that God’s compassions are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23)? Why did Isaiah pray that God would be Israel’s “strength every morning” (Isaiah 33:2, NIV)? Why did Zephaniah use the “morning” as a way to describe how God “brings His justice to light” (Zephaniah 3:5)?
The blessing of sunrise is an ancient idea that remains just as potent in our day.
There’s just something about a sunrise that says a new day has dawned. Yesterday, the dark day, is over, and a bright new day is on the horizon. What a beautiful image—one that the biblical writers used to great effect.
But the Bible’s writers were saying more than just, “Come on, feel better, it’s a new day.” They were suggesting that a sunrise says something about the nature of God Himself.
•God is dependable. History has yet to record a day when the sun didn’t appear on the eastern horizon right on schedule. And the same is true of God. He is as dependable and trustworthy as the rising of the sun (Isaiah 45:5-7).
•God is light. The night is dark. The Bible associates darkness with despair, guilt, and sin. But God is light: “Let there be light,” God said, as “darkness was on the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2-3). Christ came as “the light of the world” to dispel the darkness of the guilt of sin (John 8:12). As the sunrise pushes back the darkness of the night, so God’s light pushes back the darkness in our life.
•God is powerful. The planets of our solar system are huge compared to man. Nothing can stop the spinning of the earth on its axis; thus nothing can stop the rising and setting of the sun. We are duly impressed when that massive ball of fire rises in the eastern sky every morning—how much more impressed should we be with the strength of the One who created it?
•God is forgiving. Saying God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23) is a reminder that God’s forgiveness is never-ending. Yesterday may have been the day of failure, but today is the day of forgiveness. We walk out of the darkness and into the light of His love.
What the Sunrise Says
But there is something else that the sunrise says to the human heart—maybe more than anything else. The sunrise says hope. Our hope is in God.
All of us have felt despondent like David did, hiding in a cave to escape the madman, King Saul. David wrote Psalm 57 pouring out his heart to God. After lamenting his persecution, his heart was suddenly renewed with hope: “I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples” (verses 7-9, italics added).
What did David mean by, “I will awaken the dawn”? He was probably writing these words in the dark of night, in the darkness of a cave—and he wanted the dawn to break! He wanted to leave his darkness of place and mind and go out into a new day to praise God among the people. He was tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of living in a dark place: “I will wake up the sun with my lute and harp and song! I will sing the new day into existence. My heart is renewed with hope in God.”
The sunrise can turn a time of trouble into a time of triumph if we will view the dawn as a picture of the light, strength, trustworthiness, and mercy of God. Let each new morning remind you of the hope you have in God. “Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).
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David Jeremiah is the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and the founder and host of Turning Point for God. For more information about David Jeremiah, visit www.DavidJeremiah.org.
