Morning Prayer Reflection: Can We Let Go of the Shadows of the Past?

¹⁴...Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Ephesians 5:13-14 (NRSV)

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentation 3:22-23 (NRSV)²²²³

Jesus calls us each morning to arise anew in him. Yet, how many of us can say that we wake each morning in the glow of the light of Christ, the shadows and thoughts of the prior day(s) lifted from our minds? The worries of so many years sometimes follow us around, it can become crippling. It is precisely these burdens and shadows that Jesus calls us to expose to Him. Darkness is not dark for the Lord, who is Light. We can keep our thoughts and worries swirling about in the abyss of our minds, or we can hand them over to the Lord who can shed his mercy and light on them. Though this may not erase the burdens that plague us, it does lighten the load we bear when we share the load with Christ. So this morning, I challenge us all to hand over to Jesus anything that keeps us from beginning our morning aglow in the light of Christ. Today will bring its own challenges that will require us to find new strength from God. Can we let go of the shadows of the past to be fully alive today?

Looking for music? Try Nichole Nordeman's "Mercies New" found on her Woven & Spun album.

...Your mercies are new every morning
So let me wake with the dawn
When the music is through or so it seems to be
Let me sing a new song, old things gone
Every day it's true, You make all Your mercies new...