I had been driving for 8 hours after a week of meeting other writers, agents, and editors. I was exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically. And I knew my sweet husband had cooked dinner for me. He was waiting my arrival.

But the sunset beckoned me.

I couldn’t resist it’s beauty, so I quickly pulled into a park that promised a photo opportunity of the setting sun upon the Cape Fear River. I parked as fast as I could, jumped out of the van, and sprinted to the dock overlooking the water.

The sun slipped below the horizon just as I steadied my camera. But his hasty departure didn’t detour my purpose. Though he could no longer be seen, the fire glow spreading above the horizon betrayed the sun’s hiding place. His colored train spilled onto the water below. And the wake of the sun danced upon the river.

I stood there a brief moment. Thanked God for bringing me home and loaded myself back into my van to drive to my waiting man and his chicken and rice smothered in mushroom gravy.

I was able to leave that moment of beauty not because I captured the image with my camera or because someone was home waiting for me (though that is a wonderful blessing.) I was able to leave the setting sun because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that unless Jesus came back in the middle of the night, the sun would rise the next day. And the next. And the next.

The sun has not missed one day since the beginning of time.

If we ever question the goodness and faithfulness of God, all we have to do is watch a sunrise and sunset.

Last week our reading plan was 1 Corinthians 13 broken up into bite size pieces. It made us stop and chew. A little bite at a time causes pause and pondering. And it gave me time to study the words.

I love the NIV translation of 1 Cor. 13:7, but I noticed a big difference between it and a few other Bibles. Some translate verse 7 this way:

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 

“Always” and “all things” do not mean the same to me, so I had to do some digging into the ancient text. The Greek word is pä’s.

Pä’s:

1. individually: (each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything)
2. collectively: (some of all types)

This definition aligned my thoughts with the other translation. “Love bears all things.”

What does that mean? I love the Greek meaning of this word.

Stegō: to protect or keep by covering, to preserve

What do you think when you read the word “covering”? My mind immediately thinks of Psalm 91.

 

Love covers all people. His wings gather us close to His heart.

I was asked the other day if I had ever been mad at God. I explained that there was a time in my life when I was very angry with Him. I couldn’t worship. I couldn’t pray.

“When did you come back to Him?”

“When I stopped fighting and worshiped,” was my reply.

If His love feels absent today, please go watch a sunset or sunrise or both. Worship Him in the beauty of His wisdom and glory. You can’t worship something you don’t love. I’m not sure which comes first, but I know that one strengthens the other.

[tweetability]Worship Him. Love Him. Ask Him to help you love Him more. And let His love cover all of you.[/tweetability]

What verse in 1Corinthians 13 spoke to you last week?

Much grace,