from lamentations 3

[to read when the shadows surround us,
the night steals our hope,
and the light of day is all but forgotten]

by morgan murdock [may 7, 2020]

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You have gifted each new day with the dawn —
the return of the sun —
midnight’s seeming permanence erased,
and every earthly corner filled
with light.

light — Your first “let there be” 
— and what a daybreak it must have been!
a sudden awakening, singing over the formless and void.
from the mouth of God, a single word
spoken into being,
its brilliance sparkling like laughter, 
embracing an empty universe with warmth.

and there was evening 
and there was morning:
Day One.

every day since Creation Week,
the earth receives light from an orb of galaxy-fire, 
filtered through the air particles of our atmosphere
to make colors dance in all shades and hues,
to touch our faces and warm our bodies and refresh our souls,
to reveal that the God of heaven delights
in making all things new,
as though every dawn is the first one.

we ask for miracles and dream for signs,
hoping You will give us Undeniable Proof 
of Your existence.
how long, O Lord, will we overlook the evidence?
Your mercies are new every time the sun breaks its chains and comes
careening over the horizon to greet us.

even when shadowlands feel like eternity’s prison —
when the minutes seem like hours
and the weeks seem like years —
You encompass us with compassion.

when grief feels most unbearable,
You clasp our hands in Your nail-scarred palms
to remind us that every night since the beginning of time 
has ended in daybreak.

You send Light to color Your world with hope —
to shatter the grip of consuming darkness,
and lighten every burden 
by placing each one on the bruised and outstretched shoulders
of the Light of the World.

— to give us a taste of death coming to life from the grave, 
a Resurrection song
with every night turned into morning —
Undeniable Proof
that the Giver of Life 
and the Author of Light 
is still God in the darkness

— a God Who rejoices in new beginnings,
Who refuses to leave us alone in the night,
and Who glories in showing His faithfulness
in sunrises and Sonrises.