WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN

31st MAY 2020

^“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” – Psalm 84:11

A few weeks ago, I was led by the Spirit to one of my outer balconies, adjourning my bedroom. I cannot remember what time it was, but it appears to be about a few minutes past 6.00 pm. Looking at the sky, I saw the sun setting in its horizon, losing its brightness, and collapsing into the clouds beneath. It was my first time of seeing a setting sun. As I stood watching the red crescent gradually sinking into the bowel of the sky at the Western horizon, I became astonished, for I could actually watch its gradual movement as it sank into the bowel of the sky. In a matter of minutes, it was completely gone! Immediately thereafter, darkness began to descend on mother nature, and the songs of the birds enveloped the airwaves. I stood confused, more than ever, I felt as if something in me left with the sunset! As I stood puzzled, the Spirit said to me, “it is all gone with the sunset, and a new beginning will come up tomorrow with the rising sun.” Our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ says in Matthew 6:34, ^“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” This is a profound lesson coming from the Master himself. Each day has its own problems. It is wrong to take the problems of one day into another day. By so doing, you will rob yourself of the happiness of the new day! God has already taken care of your tomorrow.  At sunset, when the sun goes down, all your troubles of the day goes down with it; A new beginning, a new dawn is ushered into your life the next day, and every darkness is dispelled at sunrise! So, if today’s problems are gone with the sunset, and a new dawn breaks on the next day, why worry today about tomorrow?

A Sunset is a Promise of a New Beginning. In Genesis Chapter 1, the Lord God establishes an order for a new day, which begins with the darkness; A sunset (not a sunrise) (Ref: Genesis 1:1-5 ) A sunset therefore is the biblical transition into a new day! A sunset is a visual image of a promise of a bright and light-filled new beginning full of hope and fulfillment.

Why then does it seem as if our problems are unending; day after day, we experience same problems, at times, even worse than the previous day? The global view of God’s grace upon our lives is that whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven, and whatever we bind on earth is bound in heaven, hence the grace and the presence of God is with us always to strengthen us in all areas of our weaknesses ( Matthew 18:18; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10) What this means is that, in order to align with God’s grace,  we must let go of old frustrations and disappointment on each passing day.  We must not let the sun go down on us, while holding onto our misfortune. Any failure or negative disposition not left behind before sunset has the tendency to become more potent on the new dawn. Perhaps, this is why Apostle Paul warned Christians; “Do not let the sun go down on your anger …” (Ephesians 4:26 )  An anger not buried before sunset has the tendency to become reinvigorated at the new dawn. This is why in so many instances, little problems are escalated out of proportions thereby making a simple situation worst or complicated.

 One very good reason why problem are seldom solved is because most people do not leave behind the day’s challenges before the sunset, and focus instead, on a miraculous turnaround at the break of a new dawn. We often dwell in the past by holding onto the evil or shadows of the passing day, rather than look forward to the happiness meant for us at the new dawn. It is time to let go of the things that do not serve our purpose anymore and focus on a new beginning afforded us at the break of a new day!

In our Christian beliefs, the hours from the sunset through the midnight to the next morning are seen as enormously powerful periods when the presence of God is most visible and active in the affairs of men. Perhaps, this is one reason we employ the midnight or vigil hours for prayers upon important and difficult issues of life. For instance, God had requested the Israelite to sacrifice the Passover at the going down of the sun (Deuteronomy 16:6) Also, when Abraham made a sacrifice to God, seeking the face of God regarding his blood lineage. The Lord God did not only respond to Abraham’s prayers, He also made a covenant with Abraham. The Scriptures says:

^“And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him . . . .  And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces (The sacrifice prepared by Abraham). In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates . . . .” (Genesis 15:12 – 18)

Perhaps you may be wondering, why does the sunset or the new dawn bring forth a message of hope and reassurance of restoration and healing? In answering this question, today’s Scripture says, God is a sun! What that translates to is the fact that God is the power behind the might of the sun, and he uses the setting and the rising of the sun to actualize His divine purpose in the affairs of men. Jesus told Philip, ‘if you have seen me, then you have seen the father’ (John 14:9 ). Any wonder then that during the transfiguration, the Scripture says concerning Jesus in Matthew 17:2, “And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.” Today, I tell you that Jesus Christ is the risen sun at the break of a new dawn. Jesus Christ is the power that turns the darkest night and your hopelessness into a golden dawn of hope and fulfilment! Jesus Christ is ‘the sun of righteousness’, rising with healing in its wings talked about in Malachi 4:2-6.

In solving your earthly problems, leave behind the trouble of one day, and face the following day while holding onto Jesus! He will take you through the darkest nights, into a new day of hope and fulfilment. Finally beloved, I leave you with the words of Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 5:14 ,“….Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light”

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, I leave behind all my troubles and I face the beginning of a new day. Grant me the grace to overcome. Lord, fill my heart with the joy of the realization that in you, my tomorrow is assured, and my future, certain. AMEN

FURTHER READING:  Deuteronomy 24:15; Amos 5:8; Matthew 17:2