I wrote last week that ENan and I attended a spiritual retreat near Acadia National Park.  As soon as we heard about the location of the retreat, I began doing some research about the “must visit” places to go.  On the top of every list of things to do was to watch the sunrise from the top of Cadillac Mountain.  For parts of the year (actually that period began October 7 this year) Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the United States to see the sun rise over the eastern horizon.

I generally follow the principle, “If God had meant for us to see the sun rise, He would have scheduled it later in the day.”  However, I did not want us to miss out on THE major attraction of the area, so we reserved a parking space at sunrise and put Cadillac Mountain on our bucket list. 

The morning before our scheduled trip up Cadillac Mountain a heavy fog rolled into coastal Maine.  It lingered all that day, and even the next morning it had not lifted an inch.  We pressed on, trusting that our early rising would not be in vain.  The entire hour-long drive from our retreat center to Acadia was blanketed with fog.  Even when we started up the mountain, heavy fog only allowed limited visibility of the winding uphill climb. 

But as we gained elevation and got closer to the peak of the mountain, the fog disappeared.  We had finally gotten to a point higher than the fog cover, and the view was magnificent!  Streams of sunlight danced across the top of the fog in brilliant translucent colors. 

The fog remained over the lower elevations most of that day.  Everything was shrouded in gray, and the sun was not visible.  But we had been higher, and we knew the sun was shining brightly above.

We live much of life in fog.  “We don’t yet see things clearly.  We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 MSG)  We all echo the cry of the Psalmist who wrote, “I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2)  As we come to God in worship and praise, we begin to see things from His perspective.  We can see beyond our limited vision and catch a glimpse of His glory.

Even early in the morning.

By Dr. Jim Baldwin