Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
JAMES 1:17
Sometimes on a clear day, just before the sun rises, snowy mountain peaks are bathed in soft glowing tones of pink, purple, or gold. This phenomenon (which can also happen in the evening just after sunset) is called alpenglow. The slopes light up like beacons of the coming day while the observer still stands in the cold predawn shade.
Have you ever seen signs of God’s grace glowing in the distance while your own circumstances were shrouded in gloom? In this world, the shadows do shift, often falling across our lives, bringing darkness and cold. During difficult seasons, it can seem like the Lord is very far away from us. Although we’ve been told that He is with us even in the darkest valley, we can’t always sense His presence. But sometimes, before we feel the warmth of God’s healing on our own faces and shoulders, in our own hearts and minds, we can see it in someone else’s situation. The glory of God’s grace nearby is a harbinger that He will shine His face on us as well. We are promised in 1 John 3:2 that “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” And it says in 1 Corinthians 13 that we shall know Him fully, even as we are fully known (v. 12). So even when we don’t feel His love and grace, we know that in time, we will become fully aware of those gifts He is pouring out over us. And that is a hope brighter than any sunrise alpenglow.
O Lord, thank You that You have promised to be with me, no matter how dark my road is—even in the valley of the shadow of death! Draw my attention to those signs of Your glory and Your approach. I rejoice in the light You bring to each new day and the good gifts You give me.