The past seven years, after my divorce and bout with cancer, have been especially hard for my family money wise. Don’t get me wrong, the boys and I have all the needs covered. This is either because someone gave us help, I worked to make extra money, or, and I am ashamed to say this, I used a credit card to cover the expenses. In the last few months, I decided I really wanted to get ahead of this money thing. I even have a post here on Joy with Jamie about budgeting. You can read it if you’d like. Hint. Hint. After you finish reading this. But I digress. On with the story.
I was struggling to make ends meet and had no savings at all. I kept thinking, I really need a second job. Then, out of nowhere, an opportunity to work at the medical clinic in town, the one that found my cancer and saved my life, popped up in my Facebook feed. I applied and got the job. This was the easiest a job has ever come to me. And I was working within just a few days. Good luck? Perhaps. But I am pretty sure something else, or should I say someone else, was at work.
The additional money was good, but I felt an urgency to do more. Then, another opportunity came along to work for Uber Eats delivering food. Interesting. Two jobs that my normally anxious self would not touch during a pandemic with a ten foot pole fell into my lap. Two jobs that have me up before the sun during the summer, a time teachers look forward to and covet. Yep. Up Monday through Friday in the summer anticipating the rising sun. These jobs had God written all over them.
I am actually sitting in my car right now. It’s early Saturday morning, and I am waiting for an Uber Eats delivery request. I have time to pray, listen to Christian radio, read my Bible, write, and grow. While I am at my other, other job at the medical clinic, I am allowed to do the same between conducting patient screenings and sanitizing.
God has given me not one but two jobs that have allowed me to mature as a Christ follower and do work for Him. These jobs literally gave me the time I needed to build a website dedicated to finding joy! If I had been home this summer, I do not believe this would have happened.
I know! Crazy, huh?! I bet you’re saying to yourself, “Wow. God is totally at work in this girl’s life.” But you’re also probably wondering where this reference to anticipating the sun is going. And the spelling in the title of this devotion. S(u)(o)n. What’s up with that? Well. The wait is over. I’ll explain. Thank you for your patience.
This summer I have actually witnessed more sunrises than I have in my whole life. I have started anticipating them. As I drive to the medical clinic or get up to work for Uber Eats, I can’t wait to see the sun rising. All the beautiful colors, that bright shining star in the sky, are telling me good morning. Shades of orange and pink and then that bright yellow taking away the darkness, becoming more awesome with each passing moment.
Each day I anticipate the sun, but this summer has also had me anticipating something so much better. I am anticipating the Son. God is constantly at work, and He is doing great things. I have watched Him work in my life this summer. Each day I am just waiting for the next God moment to arrive.
Just as the sun signals me to rise and work, the Son tells me the same. He orders my steps. Without the sun, life would not be sustainable on Earth. And without the Son, we would not have life nor have it abundantly. The sun provides light to see by. It cuts through the darkness. And so the Son opens my eyes to see the truth, the path to take, and gives me hope. I could go on and on with the analogies, but I think you get the point.
How cool is it that the name of the life giving orb in the sky is the same as our life giving savior! Coincidence? I think not. Our God is creative. Just look at all He’s made. The platypus alone is sheer genius. LOL. Maybe He did this little sun and Son thing for us English speaking countries. I mean, what a connection between the two words! I bet He does other cool things like that in other countries too with their languages. Maybe when I’m done here, I’ll research that. Going to start with Israel.
Finding Joy: Each day, anticipate the sun and get excited for the day ahead. After all, you were blessed with another day. Rejoice! But more importantly, anticipate the Son. Look back. I bet you can find times where He was at work in your life. You can count on Him to be at work in your life every day. Start looking for God moments. When something makes no sense otherwise, God may have been at work.
He opened that door for the job you’d been wanting, or maybe He shut a door on a relationship that had you continued with would have led to misery. Perhaps He gave you that word of encouragement at just the right moment. What about that unexpected check in the mail just when the bills were due? Yep. God. Everything good comes from Him.
So like a child waiting for Christmas, or a person waiting to see that beautiful sunrise, work on having that same level of excitement and anticipation as you wait to see what the God is going to do in your life today. Anticipate the life giving Son.
Related Scripture:
1 John 5:12 – Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
Micha 7:7 – But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Psalm 37:23 – The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
James 1:17 – 18 – Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.
Listen to This: The song, Edge of My Seat, by TobyMac is all about anticipating God to be at work in your life. I love it, and I bet you will too.
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