A Lesson in Sunshine

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.
Isaiah 30:18

One morning, in the midst of a particularly difficult time in my life, my children and I were ready a few minutes early and so we sat on the couch to snuggle and pray for the day. The sky was dark with clouds and rain was imminent. It was a repeat of the day before and the day before that. It was just dark.

I wanted to teach the kids that we should want what God wants for us each day. And so, we prayed that God would bring into that day what He desired for us and that we would learn what He wanted to teach us. At the end of my prayer, I threw out “and Lord, could You give us a little bit of sunshine?” It was one of those casual statements that you sometimes say in prayer but don’t really expect God to answer. I got up to grab my purse and the knapsacks when all of the sudden, I realized that a glorious beam of sunshine was streaming in the window. Dumbfounded, I went back to my little children who were staring at the sun light. The dark, gray clouds had parted to reveal the brilliance of the sun in the middle of a clear, blue sky. “Look Mommy,” my son said, “God heard our prayer!”

We basked in the sunlight. It seemed to envelope us in its’ warm rays. I breathed deep and drank in the peace and tranquility that seemed to flood the room. The moment was golden. I silently thanked God for His immediate answer to our little prayer. Then, it was time to go.

Within minutes, the clouds returned. The puppy pooped on the floor. The car wouldn’t start. My husband forgot to come and give us a ride. My daughter and I walked my son to school as it began to rain. My kids were late for school. I was late for work. These things would normally make me crazy with frustration yet that morning, it was different. God had heard my prayer. I knew He had because I had seen His sun shine. He had answered within seconds of my asking. I remembered what else I had prayed – that He would bring into this day the things that He wanted for us in order that we might learn. Somehow, there was a reason for all of these obstacles.

When my work was frustrating and someone got their “dig” in at me, I momentarily gave in to the temptation to focus on the problems of the day and not on my God who hears and answers prayer. I was tempted to think coincidence. After all, “it was only a little bit of sunshine”. But I knew. Then, the lesson that God wanted to get across to me started to unfold…

One of my favorite scriptures, Isaiah 30, came to mind. It was a lifeline in that stormy season of my life. The Lord really does long to be gracious to me.1 I desired to see sunshine that morning. It wasn’t a need that I had. God didn’t have to give me my desire but He heard one of His children asking for something and it was His good pleasure to give it. There was nothing that I had done to deserve it. He just gave it. That’s grace!

God’s words continue, “How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.” The notes in the margin pointed me to Psalm 66:18. There is a condition for God to hear my prayers. I must not have sin cherished in my heart. The previous few months, my prayers had seemed to bounce back at me from the ceiling. But God and I had been doing some serious business recently. I had been convicted of sinful attitudes and behaviors and had confessed them before the Lord. What an assurance to me that God had forgiven me - He had heard my prayer! And if He had heard my prayer, it reinforced that He would be faithful to the rest of His word too. “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you (I) turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Praise the Lord! This was the promise of another answer to prayer. I had been praying, or rather complaining, to God that I couldn’t hear His voice. His guidance seemed far away and impossible to ascertain. That wasn’t to be the case. It was God’s desire that I know His leading.

I was getting more and more excited! The lesson I was learning was coming faster and faster. I had just learned a few days previously that when I focus all of my energies on my problems, I allow them to become idols. Isaiah says, “Then you will defile your idols…and say to them, ‘Away with you!’… And the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.” Just like the clouds rolling back and revealing the sun, the Lord let me see that focusing on my problems, why I had them and how to fix them could not be the center of my existence. But He wasn’t finished there.

It struck me that in order for those clouds to part like that – at just that time, God had to give the command for it to happen. Whoa! That’s power! God, the Creator of the universe, used that awesome, unimaginable power to speak to the clouds and part them – just for me. Why would I ever doubt that such a God would not handle the difficulties that surrounded my life! He just needed to speak the word and the clouds of my life would roll away! If He allowed them to remain, there must be a reason - something left to learn. “Okay, Lord. Teach me!”

God had known that I really wanted some sun to shine that day and in His Sovereign wisdom, He made that sun shine right into my heart. God knew everything that I was going to face that day. It had already passed through His hand. He knew what it would take for me to learn what I needed to learn. I had hurts that needed to be surrendered, idols that needed to be cast down. I needed the reassurance of God’s power, and love and grace. Praise God that He is faithful to His Word. He answers the prayers of His people. He leads and guides. And He cares not only for our needs but for the desires of our hearts.

The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.
Psalm 19:1