They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. (Psalm 65:8)
All of us should be familiar with the idiomatic expression that encourages us to “Stop and smell the roses.” In other words, slow down and take the time to appreciate the beauty of life and pay attention to what is going on around us. There is a valid reason for this expression. Because we are inclined to focus our attention on our own personal interests, we simply take for granted very beautiful and important things that are part of life. In some cases, we ignore things that make life possible. For instance, when we lay our head down to sleep, we fully expect to awaken and see that the sun has come up. At the end of the day, we expect that the sun will set and it will be time to rest once again. Being confident in this cycle gives us a certain degree of comfort.
Indeed, God has established a precise routine in His creation, engineered for our benefit. The sun rises punctually every morning and sets every evening according to His design. Rather than taking this for granted, David viewed it as something to be celebrated and appreciated because it is another way the Creator demonstrates His might and power, not to mention His eternal attributes. In David’s thinking, the reliability of the sunrise and sunset also exhibited God’s consistent care for those who love Him and knowing this, should cause us to rejoice.
And so it is that, in Jewish belief, the day should begin with prayer and an attitude of thanksgiving. Likewise, the day should end with the same in recognition of God’s sovereignty, and also, as an acknowledgment that the life He has given us should not be taken for granted. When we lay our head down for the night, there is no guarantee that we will see tomorrow. In fact, there will come a day when we shall have seen our last sunrise and last sunset. Until then, with each new morning we are blessed to see, let us give thanks to our Creator; at every sunset let us rejoice in the fact that He allowed us to live another day — and hopefully in a way that pleases Him. And so, every day let us bless the Name of the Lord.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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