I’m missing the sun today, its warmth and its beautiful brightness. Sat in the swing several hours, Penelope napping on the cushion beside me. The air was cool and the rain showers played a steady symphony. I think we can look at God as the sun, representing warmth and light and the source of life. “Let the life-giving energy of the sun fill your life.”

I’m thinking how Noah and his family endured forty days and nights of rain without the sun peeking through the purple rain clouds. How depressing for them, stuck in the darkness, being bounced and tossed around by the waves, trusting in God’s grace to stop the tumultuous rain and save them. They must have worked non-stop in the ark’s dim light feeding and watering the animals. I imagine Noah opening the wooden window to see the first rays of the sun shine through, feeling the peace of God’s grace in the sunshine, knowing soon he would again be standing on God’s firm earth. When Noah and his family left the ark and built an altar to offer sacrifices, God arched the glorious rainbow over the heavens as a promise to never destroy the earth with a flood.

In Genesis 1, we read God created the sun and moon “as lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night, for signs, and for seasons, days, and years.” We can also see the sun as a metaphor for God’s love and protection surrounding us. Psalm 84:11 reads, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.” God keeps us safe, as a shepherd does his flock, shielding us from danger and despair.

The sun provides light and warmth to the Earth which is essential for life. God is the ultimate source of light for our spiritual life, illuminating our path with his holy light. The sun’s power is seen as evidence of God’s unwavering grace to provide for us. The sun’s warmth and light remind us of God’s presence and goodness, providing joy and spiritual direction. Psalm 16:6 describes the sun’s daily movement, “From the farthest end of the sky it goes, and its path goes all the way to the other end. No one’s light is hidden from it.” The sun’s movement illuminates and warms the entire earth. The sun’s light is a symbol of God’s omnipresence. We cannot hide from God’s light. Proverbs 15:3 states, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

God has intimate knowledge of us and our lives. Psalm 139:2-4 says it best, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you understand my thought from afar. You search out my path and my lying down; you are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” Bible scripture describes God as omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient, loving and compassionate, powerful and authoritative. I see God as a loving father and a shepherd, proving guidance, protection, and comfort to his children, the sheep of his flock. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

“The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun.” — Robert Herrick