The Sun Still Rises - The One Year Daily Acts of Gratitude Devotional

Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. . . . You will change them like a garment and discard them. But you are always the same; you will live forever.

I read the news on a Wednesday evening. A friend who had been battling cancer for the past year and been in remission for a mere two months had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Though the doctors had suggested chemotherapy to slow its progress, there was no cure.

Tears rolled down my face as I grasped the full magnitude of a thirty-something woman receiving such a life-changing diagnosis. I scrolled up from her post to see a photo of her with her husband and three beautiful children. Grief consumed me as my friend’s current reality reminded me of the complex emotions I had felt two decades earlier as I watched my sister walk through a five-year cancer battle that ultimately took her life.

We can feel battered by life and its constant shifting. In a moment, the world as we know it can become a vastly different landscape, one filled with worry, stress, or fear. A diagnosis, a divorce, a job loss, a natural disaster, or a single poor decision can have life-altering consequences and ripple effects that spill over and trickle down.

I went to bed that night full of lament and fervent prayers for my friend. But the following day, as I found a quiet moment to eat breakfast, I looked outside and was struck by how everything had changed—and yet nothing had changed. The sun still rose. Birds still fluttered past. Neighbors still drove by on their way to work or school.

I don’t have all the answers on why evil exists or why we experience such suffering. But I take heart and feel comfort knowing that our God is unchanging. He is not surprised by the tragedy that befalls us. He remains our comforter, our peace, our provider. And he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Lord, thank you for your unchanging nature. In a world that is often confusing, we are grateful that your constant love is always available to comfort us. Amen.

Kristin

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Thank God for his unchanging nature, even amid life’s constant shifting.