Day 20, New Every Morning

From our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, a late afternoon silhouette of Mt. Arbel (a cliff we climbed down). Israel.

The last three days we were at the Sea of Galilee—no, you don’t understand. Our hotel, an Israeli kibbutz, is right on the water’s edge of the Sea of Galilee. I got up about 5:15 AM each of those mornings, cleaned up, walked 1/4 mile to the beach, and was on the shore by 5:45 AM for my morning constitutional. There must be something about the extra oxygen in the air at 700 feet below sea level that adds a bounce to your get-up-and-go. I didn’t have to be anywhere until 7:00 AM (breakfast).

As the dawn began her overture, the usual fog and low clouds lifted early so the lights of Tiberias were visible (the kibbutz property was part of Syria before 1967). The frogs that were croaking in triumphant unison the night before diminished to silence. The shoreline was a ghost town. The wind was stilled. With the sun’s first rays, the small fishing boats were again safely docked, having already completed their day’s work. The rhythmic cadence of the water had a tranquilizing effect.

For a moment today I watched a small bird dive into the lake like a cannonball, then come up a second later with something in its beak. The bird was close enough (25 feet?) that I could see the first few flaps of its wings straining to gain altitude, then circle before flying away. I was fortunate to have witnessed this show of nature.

However, the best was yet to come! While it was dark, I waited with whispered prayer until about 6:15 AM for sufficient light to read the God’s Word right there in a beach chair on the Sea of Galilee. Could there be anything better than this? I leave you today with the verses that were impressed on my mind and heart along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:24-25).

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

“Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth [reviles or taunts] thee daily” (Psalm 74:22).

“A scorner [scoffer] seeketh wisdom and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth” (Proverbs 14:6).

“My flesh trembleth for feat of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments” (Psalm 119:120).

“He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live” (Proverbs 15:27).