Recently, I have taken to a favourite past time of chasing the sunset. Each evening, I drive around looking for the perfect location for a perfect shot of the setting sun. It’s always such a wonderful sight to behold as the sun goes to sleep behind the clouds. It doesn’t always end on that positive note. Sometimes, I end up chasing the wind and getting no shots.
One thing I have found out in my quest is that every sunset has its peculiar DNA. No two sunsets are the same. The sun’s sleeping time is different each day. The sunset location is different and the ambience is different. If I set up at the scene of the picture-perfect shot from the previous day, I’ll be met with disappointment, because the sun in its wisdom would have found another resting place and the cloud profile will obviously be different. No matter when and where it chooses to happen, one sure thing is that the sun will always set each evening. There is no contention about this fact. I’m pretty sure that this applies to the sunrise as well. I’ve never had the luxury of seeing the sun rouse from sleep.
This phenomenon is analogous to the different paths that we follow in life. The easiest natural thing to do is to expect a life synchronised with a pre-conceived pattern. Somewhere in the recesses of our mind, we have already determined the time and location of the sunset. We have decided when we’ll graduate from school, get employed, get married, have kids and go on that dream holiday. We often start to lose sleep, when things don’t turn out as expected. We forget that even for identical twins, the stories don’t quite end on the same page.
Somehow, we manage to forget that we serve a faithful God, who created a highway in the Red Sea for His Children to pass through and made sure they never went to bed hungry every day for forty years. He made Abraham and Sarah parents in an illogical way. He sent a raven to deliver food to Elijah as he was hiding by the brook. In answer to Elijah’s prayers, He sent down fire to consume the sacrifice and He held up the rains for three and half years. Joshua prayed and the sun stood still, till the battle was over. What a mighty God we serve!
No matter how your sunsets are shuffled and everything seems out of place. You may have missed all your set targets. In all things, always remember that God promised to give you an expected end. As long as the sun rises each day, there will always be a sunset and God is too faithful to forsake you. Hold on to His unflinching promises.
Chidi Ukandu's Blog 