The Sun Shall Rise Again

At a very difficult moment in my life, my friend Do In Kim gave me a beautiful gift. Do In was leading a new church development that had been nesting within our church. Over the course of the previous year, we shared some real celebrations and some real disappointments together. And through all of this, we developed a friendship.

I opened the gift at a huge turning point in my life. There was sadness and uncertainty, and I was anxious and scared about the future. The gift was a painting of several Korean characters in splendid calligraphy—nicely framed. I asked what it said. He replied, “It says, ‘The sun shall rise again.’”

Whenever I looked at that painting over the ensuing years, it always brought a smile to my face.

Thank you, Do In. Indeed, no matter how dark the night, the sun shall rise again!

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, for friends—for those we’ve allowed to get close enough to us to share our joys and to walk with us even through the darkest of times. We also thank you for the promise that you are ever doing a new thing, and that you are not done with us yet! We pray for all those today who need to remember that the dawn shall come and a new day will break. We ask all this through Jesus Christ, who is ever bringing life even out of death. Amen.