Red Skies At Night

“Mommy, why do you love sunsets so much?” is probably a question my daughter has asked me one hundred times in her little life. My answer tends to shift each time, but generally stays within a similar theme of something about their beauty, about how creative God is, that they remind me things about God, etc. Last night, I was driving to check on a friend’s house to be sure it and all its trees were still standing after a tremendous storm came through our area, and as I drove, the light show started.

I walked out on to her porch and the air itself seemed to glow like the embers of a fire. Then it came to me: “Red sky at night is a sailors’ delight, but red sky at morning, sailor take warning.” When I was little, when I say to you ever time the sky was painted with hues of pink and red, either my Grandfather, my Father or my Mother uttered these words, I mean every. time. So when the words washed over me this time, I realized another reason sunsets matter to me: No matter what changes come, no matter what storms or sickness or endings bring, this is something about the Lord that does not change. Even if every sunset is unique, even if you can explain it away with things like pollution and science and what not, the Lord still uses it to speak to His creation.

He spent years speaking to my Grandfather, and then to my parents through a simple weather warning, but it caused them to lift their eyes nonetheless. The Lord can and will make Himself known to us always because He is always there to be seen and known. Even after the broken creation roars its way through yards, knocking down trees, wreaking havoc over already troubled waters, He reminds us by writing His love, His care, and His awe-inspiring presence unmistakably into the sky. An ebenezer to the Creator, here by His help we have come and we carry on.

“Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered in shame.” Psalm 34:5

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:5

“Praise be to the Lord, for He showed me the wonders of His love when I was in a city under siege.” Psalm 31:21

“What would have become of me had I not believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living? Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 (AMP)