Watching for the Morning

Scripture

Psalm 30:4-5

⁴ Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
    and give thanks to his holy name.
⁵ For his anger is but for a moment;
    his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night, 
    but joy comes with the morning.  (NRSV)

 

Psalm 130:5-6

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.  (NRSV)

Devotion

Last week, I put the blog on hold while I attended a conference in the mountains of North Carolina.   Each morning, I rose in the darkness, put on a thick sweater, and went out to my lodge's front porch to await the dawn.  

The world would be dark and silent when I first stepped outside. The only thing that was clearly visible among the shadows of night was the frost shining on the rooftop of a nearby building.  And yet slowly--almost imperceptibly--the sky would begin to brighten and the world around me would gain form and color.  About 10 minutes after I took my post on the porch, a single cardinal would begin to chirp.  Then, another joined in...and another bird...until the world was full of singing.  It was amazing to witness just how much the world could change in a mere 20 minutes.  Oh, the joyful expectation that filled me as I waited for the moment when the sun would finally rise above the mountains that already glowed with its light!

That, unfortunately, is when the breakfast bell would call me back inside.  I would miss official sunrise by about 5 minutes.  By the time meal and morning prayers were over, daybreak had long since passed and the world had settled in to its usual patterns.  I had missed witnessing the exact moment that I had longed to see--and yet its effects were all around me.

The psalms talk about waiting for  God's help to arrive in times of trouble to be like a person who waits for the dawn.  The night may be dark and cold, but they know that joy will come with the morning.  And so they watch in hopeful expectation of daybreak.  I wonder if those who watch notice the subtle shifts of the world around them...if they take heed of the way that things slowly get brighter and joy begins to re-enter in anticipation of the rising sin.  Did the psalmists imagine dawning of God's salvation as a split moment--or as that strange and wonderful period of time in which night slowly yet inevitably gives over to day?

 Thinking back over the past year and a half, I prefer to understand the joy of salvation that as a slow and inevitable thing--as something that builds in the world even as the light builds in the sky in anticipation of the sun's official rise.  And though the world's pain and sorrow has been deep for a long time, there are also signs that the dawn of a new day is coming.  Active caseloads of COVID are dropping in many communities.  People, organizations, and ministries are discovering that they have grown and changed in ways that they wouldn't have thought possible.  Folks are continuing to find all kinds of creative ways to do the things that matter and be with the people they love.    

Slowly but surely, we are leaving the nighttime behind and taking note of the outlines, shapes, and colors that have begun to make themselves known in the growing light.  The landscape the dawn reveals may be a bit different from the one that we remember from before night fell, we can rejoice in the knowledge that God is getting us through.  Sunrise is almost upon us.  And even if we somehow miss the exact moment that it arrives, we will get to take part in the new day that awaits us.

So take heart, beloved.  Step out into the darkness, and turn your face to the East.  The shadows are fading and the light is gaining strength.  And now, in this threshold between night and day, we can rejoice in the signs of the new day that is dawning.  

 

Prayer

Ever-faithful God, your mercies are made new every day.  Thank you for all you have done to get this far along life's road. Help me to take heed of the signs of the new day that is dawning and to rejoice in your continued presence as that day arrives in full force.  May I feel you ever by my side during each night I face and each new day that I awaken to.  Amen.