Dave and I made a stop at Home Depot on Saturday. We went with a specific purpose. We wanted to buy two large pots and two tall bougainvillea. We both love the color of these plants and they do well in our Arizona heat.
Going in, however, my attention was redirected. There they stood. Glorious. Their heads tilted upward! Basking in the sun. Oh, how I enjoy these beautiful, friendly, smile producing flowers. The sunflower.
For eight years Dave and I traveled to Iowa every summer. Each year we would drive through the sunflower fields in South Dakota. When we would drive through in the middle of the day all the stocks would be standing tall, flowers facing the sun. Those times we passed through early in the morning the heads on the plants would be drooped down low.
The difference. The sun.
That’s how it is for us. When we are in the presence of the Son we stand tall, strong and full of life. When we no longer face the Son we droop.
“Â For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles;Â ” Malachi 1:11 KJV
God’s name – His power – is great among all nations of the earth, Jew and Gentile.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no God besides Me. I will give you strength, even though you have not known Me. 6 Then men may know from sunrise to sunset that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. 7 I make light and I make darkness. I bring good and I make trouble. I am the Lord Who does all these things.” Isaiah 45:5-7 NLV
The strength we need comes from the Lord. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble. He is our shepherd, leading us to green pastures. He is our defender, our deliverer, He is protector and provider. He is our God and Father – there is no one like Him!
“Let the name of the Lord be honored, now and forever. 3 The name of the Lord is to be praised from the time the sun rises to when it sets. 4 The Lord is high above all nations. His shining-greatness is above the heavens.” Psalm 113:2-4 NLV
The sun is just beginning to crest above the mountain ridge to the East. It’s time to lift our heads toward the Son and stand strong in the day He has given us.
“3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. 4 I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.” Psalm 3:3-4 NLT
Look up – bask in the Son!