Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter
Albritton
April
2, 2017
The dawning of a new
day
There are few things more welcome than
the dawning of a new day – especially when you have been enduring a sleepless
night of pain. A few weeks ago stomach pain kept me out of bed four nights in a
row. I sat in a chair, dozing fitfully and praying for daylight.
I remembered that King David had endured
such nights. One of those nights, spent hiding from Saul’s soldiers in a cave,
inspired him to compose Psalm 57. Aware that they would kill him if they found
him, David trusted God, confident that he could “hide beneath the shadow of
your wings until this storm is past.”
David admits that he is afraid: “Frantic
fear grips me.” But remembering the kindness and love of God, David determines
to “greet the dawn with song!” Confidence in the faithfulness of God can indeed
help us overcome fear and praise God instead.
There is something wonderful about the
breaking of the dawn. When the first rays of light appear, the birds begin
singing and our hearts tingle with hope as we eagerly await the sunrise. Dark
shadows surrender to the bright beauty of a new morning. The night is past and
a new day with a fresh start makes us come alive!
The harshness of life can drive us into
caves of fear, anxiety and depression. There, inside those caves, we have a
choice. We can choose bitterness, self-pity and despair. We can suppose that
“nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.” Or we can choose to believe that the God
who made us cares for us, that he cares so much he will give us the strength to
persevere rather than give up. We can believe that God loves us so much he will
fill us with hope that “joy will come in the morning!”
When I find myself in a cold, dark cave,
with fear gripping my heart, I ask God to help me to think like David thought.
When Saul’s jealousy and hatred drove him into a long night in a cave, David
cried, “My God will fulfill his purpose for me,” and “My God will send forth
his unfailing love.” So pushing fear aside, David shouted, “My heart is
confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises!”
Next time you are hurting, and hiding in
a miserable cave of despair, kick fear in the mouth ask the God who loves you
to help you make it through the night and greet the dawn with a song! Then you
can join me in sharing with other strugglers that there is nothing quite as
beautiful as the dawning of a new day. + + +