Sunrise

Last night I (Riley) had the opportunity to talk to my pastor's wife. We talked about lots, but one thing in particular stood out in my mind. We were talking about how God lets us go through things that may lead us to believe that He is no longer concerned with our lives, but down the road it is so very clear that He put us through that for a purpose!
During the summer, I went through a very trivial time in my life. I won't elaborate, but let's just say that I was making very foolish decisions, and not heeding God's will for my life. During this time, I was trying desperately to escape something, but rather than relying on God, I took matters into my own hands. And needless to say, things got kind of scary! For example, I no longer had a desire to pay attention in church, or get involved in the ministry at my church. Although I had to go through alot before I realized I was headed down the wrong road, God finally intervened and brought me back into His loving arms!
His way of capturing my attention still sticks out in my head today, and gives me chills, and brings tears to my eyes! I was in Ohio with my parents visiting my grandparents, and we were at their church on a Sunday morning. The service started out normal enough, singing, and a special. Little did I know that God had that special picked out just for me! A girl named Hailey sang with her dad. Before they started singing, her dad explained that Hailey had a disorder and she couldn't stop moving around, and she had some mental problems. But he shared that Hailey loved singing to Jesus more than anything else! They sang her favorite song, a song about praising God even during difficult times. As I was sitting there, I watched Hailey beaming, and clapping her hands as she sang about God's goodness. It made me cry, and made me think that if Hailey could praise God through all of her problems, I could surely begin thanking Him for my life!
Apparently, I wasn't the only one touched by Hailey's song, the whole church began praising God! People began testifying to God's goodness, and telling the many things God had done for them in just the last week. The pastor saw how open people were being about praising God, and he decided to let the service turn into a full blown testimony service. I have never received such a blessing from a service in my life! It truly turned my life around.
From that point on, I began seeking God and praying like I never had. I begged God for a second chance, and for His forgiveness. Looking back, I can see how amazing God was, He indeed gave me a second chance and brought me to the exact place in life He wanted me to be at. I am convinced that had I not gone through that rough summer, I would not be writing this blog today. God is truly a compassionate God who works in mysterious ways!
After I got home last night, I was still thinking about what I had talked about to my pastor's wife as I got ready for bed. I don't know about you, but while I'm brushing my teeth I like to listen to music! So, I was listening to my iPod, and a song I hadn't heard in a while came on, called "Sunrise" by Nichole Nordeman. It was like God's way of saying, "This is exactly what you need to write about!" The lyrics explain perfectly what I wanted to express!

"Sunrise" ~Nichole Nordeman

If I had the chance
To go back again
Take a different road, bear a lighter load
Tell an easy story
I would walk away
With my yesterdays
And I would not trade what is broken for beauty only
Every valley
Every bitter chill
Made me ready to climb back up the hill
And find that . . .


You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise


There's a moment when
Faith caves in
There's a time when every soul is certain God is gone
But every shadow is evidence of sun
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
And every tomorrow holds out hope for us
For every one of us

You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise


You alone will shine
You alone can resurrect this heart of mine


You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise
You are sunrise


That first verse just reminds me that even though I may have made many mistakes, they brought me to where I am and I should never want to go back and change them because I might not be where I am today! And the chorus paints such a beautiful picture, of what it's like when we get to the top of our "mountain". When we "see" God for the first time after we have been running from Him, it's like seeing a gorgeous sunrise. It also makes an astonishing point, if we didn't go through hard times, how would we know God's goodness? The second verse really spoke to me. It says that for every Christian there is a moment when faith disappears. It might be because of a lack of faith, or because we think God has left us, or in my case rebelling. But even during those time, we can see evidences of Christ in our lives, and He is revealing Himself to us, trying to bring us back to Him!
Although I had heard this song a dozen times before, this time it's like it finally "clicked," and God was saying, "See I had you go through that to bring you even closer to Me!" How marvelous our God is!
So the next time you think you can't go on, and your faith is on the brink of disappearing, look for the "Sunrise!"

If you want to hear the song "Sunrise" by Nichole Nordeman click on this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev9LRiTxgfA&feature=related