Isaiah 59-63

I love the beauty of an early morning sunrise, although I tend to sleep through them these days more than not.  Still, something in my heart resonates with these words of Isaiah, telling about a time to come:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.² See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.

In spite of the darkness over the peoples…the LORD rises…and his glory appears.  Tomorrow I will think on these verses as I stand and worship the LORD upon waking with the sunrise (or at least upon saying goodbye to the day at dusk).  Perhaps a glimpse of His splendor will wash over me as I welcome the dawn in the light of his beautiful presence.

My dad used to wake us up each morning with the words, “Rise and Shine!”  If we complained about the early hour, he’d modify that command to: “Rise and Be Dull!”  Yet the command to rise was still there.  It was our choice whether we wanted to begin our day reflecting the light with a shining attitude or souring ourselves and those around us by shunning and scorning the light.

What will it be for tomorrow?  Rise and Shine?  or Rise and Be Dull?