Psalm 65:8 They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
We recently spent a few days vacationing in San Francisco, staying just two blocks from the beach. Our first afternoon there, we took a brisk shoreline walk, fascinated by the churning, foam-laced waves. But high winds and chilly temperatures discouraged beach strolls most evenings—for my part, that is. J.B., however, never lets anything stop him from his goals. At sunset every clear night he’d bravely head out to the ocean, clambering up and over sand dunes, watching balls of foam skitter across the sand. From the videos he showed me afterward, few joined him in his near-gale-force-wind expeditions. With sand blowing and winds piercing, most beach lovers opted to stay indoors.
Finally one evening, the winds calmed a bit. Riding a train back to our temporary coastal home after a full day of sightseeing, we exited with an eager group of strangers. Everyone took off for the beach, with earnest enthusiasm, anxious to view the sunset. Each person picked a spot and we stood along the shore enjoying the scene, each of us treasuring the moment until the sun, appearing much larger somehow over the ocean, performed its glorious descent below the horizon. I imagined us all smiling and taking a deep, collective sigh at that moment. There’s something peaceful, comforting, and deeply satisfying in watching a beautiful sunset.
Poet Robert Browning once wrote, God’s in His Heaven; All’s right with the world (from “Pippa’s Song”.) That describes the sentiment that enveloped me as I gazed at the horizon that evening. Despite this tangled mess we call humanity, just knowing that the earth is still orbiting the sun, and that I can count on the consistency of sunsets and tides, reminds me that God has a plan. A beautiful, glorious plan, too grand for comprehension. It began with God calling forth light and it will begin again with a new heaven and a new earth—and all will finally and forever be right with the world.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Revelation 21:1-4 KJV).
