Today’s Reading: Psalm 24 & 104

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
O Lord my God, how great you are!
You are robed with honor and majesty.
You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens;
you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds.
You make the clouds your chariot; you ride upon the wings of the wind.
The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants. – Psalm 104:1-4

Those who know me well know that autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the cooler temperatures, the smell of backyard fires, and the fall decorations. I love going to Friday night football games and Saturday fall festivals. I love the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas that we often feel in the fall, but most of all I love the beauty of the changing leaves on the trees.

Fall is also fundraising season for the nonprofit I work for, so I have the privilege of doing a little extra traveling as I try to make it to as many banquets as I can. A few years ago, I was driving to Jacksonville, Illinois, for their Annual Fundraising Banquet, and I chose to cut through Spoon River territory in order to enjoy the beauty of the fall leaves. Typically I map out the route that will take me the least time, but that year I decided to take the scenic route, and I was not disappointed.

The weather that day was gorgeous. The temperature was comfortable and the sun was shining down on the trees. You could see all the gorgeous colors of the changing leaves. Red, yellow, orange and purple mixed in with so many shades of green. The beauty was breathtaking! Every time I came up over a hill, I would anticipate what the next mile was going to look like and I was rarely disappointed.

To make it even better, there was just a slight breeze that caused the leaves to slowly drift down across the road. It was raining down the colorful leaves around me and I was caught in the beauty of the season. I found myself praising God for the beauty of the leaves and the grand effect the sun had on the leaves as it shone brightly down.

The next day I drove to Shelbyville, Illinois, for another banquet, but the weather that day was much different than it had been the day before. It was cold and rainy, and clouds covered the sky. I have to admit there was very little beauty to be in awe of that day. The clouds were blocking the effect of the sun and the result was that the scenery was much less breathtaking.

Now, consider this. Were the trees any less beautiful on Friday than they were on Thursday? Did they have less color or less variety of colors? No, the trees themselves were the same. The difference was in the lack of sunshine. It is amazing the difference it makes to have the sun shining down on or shining through the trees. The beauty is still there, God’s creation is still quite gorgeous, but its beauty is hidden or veiled by the clouds and the rain on the windshield.

God spoke to me on that second day of traveling. He showed me that there is beauty in every circumstance of life and in every person I come in contact with. But He also showed me that, just as the beauty of the fall colors is dimmed by the lack of the SUN, the beauty of people is often dimmed by the lack of His SON — the lack of Jesus in their life. Their potential remains the same; their beauty is there but waiting for the enhancement of God’s son, Jesus Christ, to shine down and make a difference in the appearance of their life.

When we think of autumn, we often think of it as being a season of change. The temperatures are changing, the leaves are changing, and the foods are changing. This is probably what I love so much about this time of year. And more than ever, this has been a season of change for Scott and I. We are once again living in a new community and looking forward to being available for God to use during this next season of our lives.

What change is the Lord leading you through in this season of life? Is the SON shining down on your circumstances and showing you the beauty all around you, or do you find your blessings hiding under the clouds that today has brought? Perhaps this morning would be a good time to look for the beauty of the season and intentionally list out all the good that God is surrounding you with. Look at your day through a different lens — a lens of acceptance and submission, a lens of optimism that sees the beauty surrounding you. Ask God to make His presence known to you as you give Him praise for the season you find yourself in today.

May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
The earth trembles at his glance;
the mountains smoke at his touch.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord…
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord! — Psalm 104:31-35

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.
Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols and never tell lies.
They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob. — Psalm 24:1-6