The Medicine of Sunrise Joy

Sacred Song 30:5

“His anger is like the summer storm that quickly passes, but his goodwill remains for all our days. Tears of sorrow may last through the night, but weeping turns to shouts of joy at the sun’s morning light” – Psalm 30:5, FNV

In our Quechan language, we use the word a’áv-k, which means to hear, to listen, or to sense in a way that goes beyond what the eyes can see. It means listening with our hearts. When we listen with our heart, we hear what creation is telling us: that the sun will always rise. If there is sunset, there will be daybreak. Night will always bow to the morning. Sunrise brings the medicine of joy, wrapping us in the promise that God’s love outlasts the night. Sorrow may sit with us for a time; however, joy will come with the new light of day.

When the psalmist sings that tears may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning light, it is more than poetry; it is our testimony. Our ancestors knew this way. They watched the sun return after the longest nights, prayed as storms passed, and gave thanks when the ground grew green again. They trusted creation’s cycle to teach the heart that God does not leave us in sorrow without preparing joy.

Reflect on sunrise joy in your own life. There may have been nights when grief felt like an abyss, silence felt deafening, and your prayers felt unanswered. Then morning came. Light slipped through the cracks, and joy showed up in surprising ways through the kindness of a friend, the hug of a child, or in a cup of morning coffee. Sunrise joy reminds us that God’s love refreshes our spirit and strengthens the places within us that hope for new light.

Among many Indigenous peoples, the first light of morning is welcomed with prayer and song. Faces turn east as we lift our hearts in gratitude, receiving the sun as both gift and medicine. Sunrise teaches us that the hard place never has the final say and that God’s goodness greets us at the break of each morning sun. So keep listening with your heart, and let the medicine of sunrise joy lead you today.

Medicine for the Day

I listen with my heart and welcome the sunrise joy God gives.