About two days ago, I was listening to a sermon on YouTube, and one of the key Scriptures used was Psalm 74:17. Then I looked at the chapter, and verse 16 also caught my attention.
Psalm 74:16–17 (KJV) reads: “The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.”
There is something about these verses that has stayed with me.
We often associate the night with sadness, uncertainty, and trouble.
Similarly, when we think about winter, we may picture cold temperatures, bare trees, and things that appear lifeless.
These seasons can remind us of the difficult and uncomfortable periods of our lives, when things do not seem to be going as we had hoped.
But what stood out to me in this passage is that the psalmist declares that both the day and the night belong to God.
He also acknowledges that God made both summer and winter.
In other words, God is sovereign over them all.
We are often comfortable acknowledging God’s sovereignty when things are going well.
When the sun is shining, doors are opening, and we can see the evidence of His goodness around us, it is easier to declare that the Lord is in control.
However, what happens when we find ourselves in a season we did not anticipate?
What happens when we are walking through a period of uncertainty, waiting, disappointment, or unanswered questions?
Does God cease to be sovereign because our circumstances have changed?
Absolutely not.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) reminds us: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Life is filled with different seasons. Some we welcome, while others we would rather avoid.
Some bring excitement and new opportunities, while others require patience, endurance, and a great deal of faith.
Nevertheless, our responsibility is to trust God in every season, even when we do not fully understand what He is doing.
The Day Is His, and the Night Also Is His
Have you ever noticed how we often associate the day with positive things and the night with negative things?
We sing, “This is the day that the Lord hath made.”
There is not a song I know that says, “This Is the Night That the Lord Has Made.”
Hahaha!
Of course, the song is rooted in Scripture, and there is nothing wrong with celebrating the day the Lord has made.
However, Psalm 74:16 reminds us that the night belongs to Him, too.
During the day, we can generally see where we are going.
We can observe our surroundings, make plans, and feel more certain about what lies ahead.
Nighttime, on the other hand, limits our visibility.
We may not see what is in front of us as clearly, and we often have to proceed with greater caution.
Sometimes, our lives feel the same way.
There are seasons when we have clarity about what God is doing.
We can see how things are coming together, understand the direction we are moving in, and recognize the opportunities before us.
Then there are other seasons when we have more questions than answers.
We may be uncertain about our next steps, wondering why certain doors have closed or why things are taking longer than expected.
Yet, the same God who is with us when the way is clear is with us when we cannot see what lies ahead.
The night does not mean that God has abandoned us, and winter does not mean that He has stopped working.
We may not be able to identify what is happening beneath the surface, just as we cannot always see what is happening within a tree during winter.
What appears lifeless on the outside does not necessarily tell the whole story.
This is not to suggest that every difficult experience is good or that we will always understand why things happen.
Rather, it is a reminder that we should not measure God’s presence or faithfulness solely by what we can see at a particular moment.
Sometimes, Purpose Is Found Right Where You Are
One of the things that has been helping me in this season of my life is asking the Lord, “What are You teaching me in this season?”
It is a question that has challenged me to look beyond where I want to be and pay closer attention to where I am right now.
A few weeks ago, a loved one who is up in age suffered a fall that landed him in the hospital for about a week.
Every day, I went to visit him, spending about an hour by his side.
My presence made a difference, especially in helping to ease the burden on his children during that time.
And it got me thinking.
I could have been anywhere else at this point in my life.
I could have been somewhere completely different, occupied with other responsibilities and circumstances.
But I was here, and I was able to be present for someone who needed me.
Sometimes, we become so focused on where we want to be that we overlook the significance of where we are.
We can spend so much time asking God why we have not arrived at a particular destination that we fail to recognize the opportunities He has placed right in front of us.
Sometimes, purpose is not found in a major accomplishment or a life-changing opportunity.
Sometimes, it looks like setting aside an hour each day to sit beside someone who needs you.
What if the season you are trying so desperately to get out of is also a season in which you have an opportunity to serve someone, learn something, or be present in a way that you otherwise could not?
Farther Along, We’ll Know All About It
There is an old hymn that says, “Farther Along We’ll Know All About It.”
I appreciate the thought behind those words because there are things we simply do not understand while we are experiencing them.
Sometimes, it is only when we look back that we begin to recognize the significance of certain moments, decisions, and experiences.
When I look back over my life, especially when I was beginning my college journey, I can see how my perspective has changed with time.
I was fixated on attending Liberty University.
In my mind, it was one of the “big dawgs” among Christian universities.
That was where I wanted to go.
However, neither my family nor I had the financial resources to make it happen.
Did I have faith?
Absolutely.
Was I disappointed that things did not work out the way I had hoped?
Of course!
But I am grateful that my journey did not end with the door I wanted to open remaining closed.
I eventually attended Valor Christian College, and when I look back at that season, I realize that there was more happening than I could have understood at the time.
While at Valor, I worked in the admissions office and had the opportunity to help another Bahamian student attend the college.
Today, that individual is thriving in ministry, married, and raising a family.
What if I had not been at Valor during that season?
What if I had not been in that position to help?
Who knows what that person’s journey might have looked like?
I do not say that to suggest that I know everything God was doing behind the scenes.
But it reminds me that our obedience can have an impact beyond what we immediately see.
We may think we are simply fulfilling an assignment or occupying a particular position, not realizing that our presence may be part of someone else’s story.
And then, there was the other side of my experience at Valor.
I had a difficult season with leadership, and I eventually quit.
I was only 21 years old, navigating an experience that would challenge my understanding of leadership and ministry.
At the time, I could not have known all that I would take away from that experience.
But looking back, I can recognize that it helped me see the kind of leader I do not want to become.
It taught me to think more carefully about how we lead, how we treat people, and the kind of environment we create for those entrusted to our care.
I would not pretend that the experience was pleasant, nor would I say that I needed to go through it for the sake of learning a lesson.
Because surely, there are other ways to teach me, right, Lord?
Hahaha!
But I can acknowledge that even in a difficult season, there were things I learned that have helped shape me.
When I put those two experiences together, I see how one season can hold both meaningful opportunities and painful disappointments.
When I think about Liberty University now, I no longer look at not attending as a missed opportunity.
My journey took a different route, but that route brought experiences, relationships, and lessons that have helped shape the person I am today.
Valor was one part of that journey, followed by Oral Roberts University and Baylor University.
I cannot say that I understood the significance of every step while I was taking it, but I can look back with a greater appreciation for how my journey unfolded.
Sometimes, we become so fixated on the destination we have chosen that we struggle to appreciate the road we are actually travelling.
We wonder why God did not allow one door to open, not knowing what we will encounter through another.
That does not mean every disappointment will make sense immediately, or that we will always get to see the outcome of our obedience.
But it does remind me that I should be careful about dismissing a season simply because it did not look the way I expected.
Do We Know the Reason for Our Season?
Around Christmas, we often hear the phrase, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”
It is a familiar statement that reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas.
Lately, I have found myself thinking about a different question: Do we know the reason for our season?
When we find ourselves in an unfamiliar place, going through an uncomfortable experience, or waiting for something we deeply desire, it is natural to ask God why.
We want to know what He is doing, how long the process will take, and what the outcome will be.
Sometimes, we may receive answers along the way.
At other times, we may have to keep walking by faith without knowing how everything will unfold.
The truth is that we do not have the same perspective as God.
We see the present, and even then, our understanding is limited.
God sees what we cannot see, while we are often trying to make sense of the middle of a story whose ending we do not yet know.
That does not mean we should stop asking questions or pretend that uncertainty does not affect us.
We can be disappointed and still trust God.
We can be confused and still believe in His faithfulness.
We can desire a change in our circumstances while remaining open to what we may learn along the way.
Perhaps the challenge is learning to live faithfully in the middle of a story we do not yet fully understand.
The Night Belongs to Him, Too
As I reflect on Psalm 74:16–17, I am reminded that God’s sovereignty is not restricted to the seasons we enjoy.
He is not only God when our plans work out, our prayers are answered as we expected, or our circumstances are comfortable.
I do not want to become so consumed with waiting for the day that I fail to remember who holds the night.
“The day is thine, the night also is thine.”
The night belongs to Him, too.
And He is still worthy of our trust.
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