Singing Before the Dawn

                                                                           

Tossing and turning in the wee hours of the morning.....it has a tendency to make a person anxious.  If I lay there, my mind fills with worries, to-do's, regrets, and sorrows.  I have learned that just getting out of bed and coming to Jesus is the only way to combat those destructive thoughts and ease my anxious heart.  So, I pull on my fleece and my wool socks and pour myself a hot cup of coffee and snuggle up to the ONE who rights all wrongs through the power of His Word and the presence of His Spirit.

It's still very dark outside.  It's rainy and the wind is causing the trees to sway and tremble.  Sometimes life feels dark and damp and the winds of change cause us to sway and tremble in ways that run contrary to the strength that we think faith should bring.  Why is it that in the darkness of life, we imagine the monsters are lurking?  Why is it that the same places that bring joy and solace suddenly become frightening when there is darkness?  

The birds know something we don't know...they know before the dawn that even though there is darkness, there is hope.  Before I even see a glimmer of the light of dawn, I hear them frantically chirping in those wet swaying trees.  They are singing so loudly that even through the walls that keep me dry and warm I can hear them.  They sing before the dawn....they sing in the darkness knowing the light is coming.  They have no walls of protection, no blankets of warmth....they don't even know where their next meal will come from....but THEY KNOW the dawn is coming and they usher it in with their songs of hope.

What if we could do the same thing?  What if, no matter how dark, how cold, how unsteady life seems, we could remember the Light?  What if we could sing praises to the Light of the world just because we know He is there and we know that soon He will appear?  What if we could hold fast even in the swaying and trembling times just because we know that those too shall pass?

A big Robin dares to drop down from the tree to forage along the ground, a big pheasant wanders into the yard, coming close enough that I can see his bright head in the dim of the morning. Sometimes you have to go to the lowest places....and take the greatest risks to find sustenance. Sometimes you have to drop to your knees in prayer and forget about your "safety" to find food for your soul even before the light of the dawn.....and that's TRUE FAITH.  Even though what we feel may SEEM contrary to the strength that our faith should bring, living and acting upon what we know to be true....EVEN IN THE DARKNESS.... Is having TRUE FAITH.