As a child swinging, toes pointed to the sky, I loved pretending I was soaring high above the clouds. I was mesmerized by the billowing clouds with the sun's light peeking through. It was blissful joy as I obediently squinted to avoid looking directly at the bright sun. Every once in a while, I snuck a look and my eyes were blinded.
Occasionally, I would swing on a cloudy day and would be fascinated by the fact that the sun was still there even though I couldn't make out its bright rays. The sun was obscured, but I could still see the effects.
I was even more fascinated by the fact that at night, the moon held no light of its own. Instead, it reflected the radiance of the sun shining brightly on the other side of the big world. My child's mind wondered at the possibility of one sun affecting the whole world at once. I was amazed that sometimes this sun that could shine so brightly, could at other times be fully hidden. Even when I could not see it, it was there. It had the power to burn and to melt, but sometimes its power was obscured and ice could form, yet still it shone.
My mind was filled with the thought that Jesus saw the same sun as He fed the 5,000, Laura Ingalls Wilder as she made her way across prairies, Helen Keller as she made her way without sight still feeling its warmth, the Queen of England as she did what royalty does and on my parents before I was born. Not only that, but someday my kids would see the same sun and I would grow old under it. The sun fascinated me because of its consistency. Nothing could shake it as it faithfully rose every morning and set every evening.
I could not affect the sun's consistency by noticing or not noticing it. I could not give a thought to the sun for even a moment of my life and still it would rise and set and I would still reap the benefits of its existence. I needed it and depended on it as much as the air I breathed, yet I had done nothing at all to make it exist. Its existence affected me whether I noticed it, believed in it or even thought about it. Nothing I could do had the power to change it. It did not exist because of my awareness of it. It existed whether I was aware or not.
Sometimes in this life, our days can get a bit cloudy and obscure our view. Maybe we've been through a big disappointment or a loss. Maybe our view of God has gotten a bit distorted along the way and we can't reconcile the god we feel we've experienced and the God who promises He is good. Maybe we feel there is something we have done that so disappoints God, He holds us at arms length. Maybe we're just busy and don't notice the movements of God in our days. Maybe we're ignoring Him because we don't want to see Him. Whatever it may be, the clouds of life can obscure the God who loves us, but if we look we'll find Him (Proverbs 8:17).
When looking at creation and the beauty that surrounds us, we are seeing the radiance of God reflected - especially in mankind. We are made in His image (Genesis 1:26-28). This God of love holds all things together in His hands (Col. 1:17) and the earth is pulsing with His radiance. It's His air we breathe (Gen. 2:7). Not a bird falls from a nest that He is unaware of (Matthew 10:29). Not a single tear goes unnoticed by Him (Ps. 56:8). We see His reflection in creativity, love and all of creation (Ps. 19:1). He is so powerful we can't look at His face (Exodus 33:11), yet sometimes His voice comes in the faintest whisper - so quiet it can be drowned out by the noise of life. Yet, still He's there.
This God saw us the moment our heart began to beat and will be there until it beats its last. (Ps. 139:13-16) Before the foundation of the world He knew us and loved us (Ephesians 1:4). He knows when we sit and when we rise and there is not one place we can go where we are hidden from Him (Ps. 139:2; 139:7-12). He counts every hair on all of our heads (Luke 12:7). His faithful love will be constant until the last of mankind breathes the last earthly breath (Psalm 136:26). His faithful mercies will be new every single morning for every single day that ever exists (Lamentations 3:22-23). There will never be morning without His new mercy which means He will always stand ready with open arms to any who may come to Him (Romans 10:13). Nothing can shake His faithful love. Not even us. It is not in our power. We cannot shake His love. Nothing can shake Him and He faithfully stands with arms wide open every day.
Even when we feel we are in darkness or don't understand our internal world, it's light to Him (Psalm 139:12). He can see everything. He causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall on the godly and ungodly because He loves all (Matthew 5:45). Not one of us could exist without Him and if He left for a moment every single person would notice (Colossians 1:16). He is as close as the air we breathe. We can trust Him because this God who loves us deeply, knows us deeply -even those of us who want nothing to do with Him (John 3:16). His love cannot be shaken by our past, our present or our future (Ephesians 3:17-19). Our awareness or lack of awareness of His love does not affect it. His deep love exists whether we are aware of it, acknowledge it or reject it.
His love is more sure than the rising and setting of the sun because by Him all things were created (Colossians 1:16) We can count on it no matter what season we are in. Through every valley and on top of every mountain He is there. Though clouds may obscure our view of Him, we can be sure He is there in all of His powerful love. Clouds do not mean He is absent. His relentless love surrounds us every step we take every day of our lives and not a moment goes by where we are on our own.
His love does not exist because of our awareness of it. It exists whether we are aware of it or not.
But I want to live aware....
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.