Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.

I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows.

I believe for everyone who goes astray, someone will come to show the way.

I believe. I believe.”

(Graham, Shirl, Drake & Stillman)

The morning sunshine is coming in shortly, even though as I sit here I can see only darkness outside my upstairs windows. Experience tells me that I can believe that the morning light is about to break over the horizon.

How about you—do you believe that?

I didn’t see a lot of that “belief” the other day, as I was on some errands around town which Lynda had asked me to do. As I drove around and made my way to various stores around the mall, it became eerily apparent to me that I saw fewer smiles and heard less laughter among those I walked by or met on that journey than I had remembered from times in the recent past.

It was a bit like sitting in the darkness this morning.

Perhaps it was because the folks I saw were having a hard time believing that things would get better with the economy anytime soon, or they were concerned with all the unrest around the world and seemingly little being done to address it. Some of them were without work. Soon-to-be college graduates who had worked so hard to graduate, like the young lady I spoke with, realized that the jobs that used to be there for new graduates were no longer available.

Folks once settling in for retirement were now having to scale back the vision they had for the way that had looked years ago, and in some cases are postponing the date while they try to earn back some of what was lost in their retirement accounts. Others are trying to figure out how they will pay for college for their children—which is just around the corner. Still others wondered where the money would come from for the family’s next meal.

We’re in the midst of a time where we may find it harder to believe that the sunshine really will come up over the horizon. We’re in the midst of a time where hope—the feeling that what is desired will actually happen—is on the wane.

I don’t know what you’re going through. Maybe it’s some of the same things those folks I saw the other day are going through. Maybe that feeling of hope you have had in the past is beginning to wane a bit today and for all your tomorrows.

If that’s the case in your life, think about this with me for a moment. In the midst of all of all storms we’re going through, it has never been clearer that what and who we believe in is of paramount importance.

Do we believe in the things that are subject to the winds and whims of whatever is going on around us, or do we believe in something more long-lasting? Do we believe in the things of the world, or the things of a more eternal nature? Does our hope reside in the wild swings of the stock market, or whether we’ll get the next promotion, or start a successful business, or does it reside in something constant and never-changing?

Does our hope reside in the Hope of the One who has control of eternity, or does it reside in something else? Does our hope believe that through all that is going on in the world around us, God has not left us, God still reigns, and God still knows us, cares for us and hears our every word? Or is our hope in something or someone else?

The rest of the song set out above goes like this—

I believe above the storm, the smallest prayer will still be heard.

I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word.

Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, or touch a leaf or see the sky,

Then I know why, I believe.”

What do you believe in? Where do you put your hope?

Believe in the God Who created you and cares for you. Put your hope in the God Who is always there, has never left you and never will.

Believe that the morning sunshine really will come over the horizon—today, tomorrow and for all eternity.

Why? Because with Him—it will!

In His Name—ScottCopyright 2015. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.

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