One of the things I enjoy so much about my morning walks is watching the sun rise. This time of year, when I start out, it is still dark. As I walk along light starts to slowly seep into my world until, as I turn the corner and head home, the sun breaks over the horizon, chasing away the last remnants of darkness.
Many days I also take an evening walk. Then I get to watch the sun slip out of sight, leaving a spectacular color display in the clouds, ushering in the night and the end of another day.
Day after day this cycle repeats. Morning and evening. Sunrise and sunset. But what happens in between? That’s what really matters. How do we spend those precious hours between when we wake up and when we fall asleep?
The Bible tells how God wants us to spend those hours. It says, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” (Psalm 113:3 NIV). Every moment of every day is to be spent praising the name of the Lord, glorifying Him for all He has done. Our every breath should be an act of worship.
So, are we to go around shouting, “Praise God!” all day long? No, God says the kind of worship He desires is “to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke…to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood…” (Isaiah 58:6, 7).
The praise God desires from us, from sunup to sunset, is praise in action, loving our fellowmen, caring for their needs, helping them find their way home. When you do this “Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” (v. 8).
Today, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets…” let your actions shout your praise to your God. If you do, then His light will light your way, His love will fill your heart, and you will never walk alone.