A New Dawn

You’ve probably heard the old saying that the darkest hour is just before the dawn. There are so many seasons in our lives where we could say this was definitely true. Recently I have felt challenged to consider this phrase and to look at when I have felt this in my own life.

The English theologian and historian Thomas Fuller appears to be the first person to commit the notion that 'the darkest hour is just before the dawn' to print. His religious travelogue A Pisgah-Sight Of Palestine And The Confines Thereof, 1650, contains this view: It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth

The idea behind this is related to the literal meaning of dawn. Dawn begins when the first light begins to show over the horizon from the sunrise. Therefore, there is the least light before dawn begins, because there is no sunlight at that point. That is also the longest point since last seeing light. Sometimes we can be in seasons like this when we have been surrounded by hard times. It can seem like we have walked through dark and challenging circumstances for so long and yet we see so much more of it before us. It can feel like we are so far from the horizon but the truth is that we don’t have to trudge along until we reach some destination. We just have to stand and look to the horizon and the light will pierce the darkness. It is not the darkness we should focus on for it is not our portion. The enemy may try to use it to encroach upon our lives but it is not God’s plan. He will meet us in the midst of it, just as the light crests over the horizon and pushes back the darkness of night. There is always a new dawn.

”Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭5‬-‭11‬