Faith Inspiration: Light and Shadow

Winter can be hard on many of us. If it isn’t the cold or the snow, the gray gloom can be overwhelming. Speaking from the perspective of a Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferer, I know how day after day of gray sky can tap our our energy, and our joy. My thoughts often become shadowed and cloudy. Brain fog is a real thing, and I find trying to make decisions or be creative during these long, gloom filled days will likely not produce anything more than moans and groans.

Image by Peter H from Pixabay

God, however, is always at work. His creativity never lessens, and certainly His ability to transport us from those shadowed areas to His Kingdom of Light is always available.

For me, Faith Inspiration comes from numerous places. The Bible is certainly the main thing that bolsters my faith. It is God’s truth and it changes and transforms us. Music, movies, books, and listening to other Godly preachers, or teachers can inspire my faith to grow. Many times, for me, faith is inspired by something as simple as sun and blue sky, especially after many days of gray clouds.

Today as I was sitting by the window in our living room hemming a few thrifted items I got to send to my mom, I was basking in the knowledge that the sun was shining. As much as I wanted to be out in it, I was just thankful I could see it. I was a witness to the miracle of God’s amazing Creation. He put the sun in place and created the planets to revolve around it. The sun is the center of our universe, and only our little jewel of a planet is just the right distance from it to support life.

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

It wasn’t until I was writing this that I realized the beautiful truth of the physical miracle God put into place. Everything in His creation has a purpose. The sun is not just a source of light and heat for us, but a burning analogy of God’s own Son our Lord Jesus. He is the center of our faith. He is the light of the world.

“12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” ”

— John 8:12 (NASB 1995)

Without our physical sun our world would become dark, and cold. So dark and cold that all life would eventually cease. If you know anything at all about our water cycle, and the cycle of plants, you know that all of these things work together to sustain life, from the production of oxygen, to the use of our exhaled waste - CO2, to the production of potable water for all the plants, animals and people. Each of these miracles God set into motion for our benefit.

Without Jesus, life is dark and cold. Sure you can find all sorts of things, people and philosophies to fill up that dark, cold, but in the end only Jesus can completely fill and make whole. It is the fire of the gospel that takes our lives and makes them energized. It is the center of our faith, Jesus, who enables us to grow and move from darkness to light.

If, Jesus is the center of our faith, and He is the light of the world, what about all the darkness? What about the evil that persists on our planet? How can a good God allow the suffering and devastation going on all around the globe? The answer to that is sin. Sin marred the perfect relationship God was to have with His creation, and in a similar way our misuse and abuse of our planet has taken it from a literal paradise, to a planet feeling the pangs of childbirth and longing for it to be over.

“20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

— Romans 8:20-22 (NASB 1995)

We would never know the true beauty of the light, if we never faced times of darkness. I talk more about the necessity of darkness in a previous blog post - When Darkness Comes - Part 1: The Light. We do not have to live in a world without light or the heat of the sun. We also do not have to live in a world without the Son of God. We have His love, His forgiveness and His revelation.

While it is hard on those gray days to remember the sun is still out there, bringing light, if not actual sunshine for every day, I know it is because of God’s grace and mercy that I can enjoy daylight. Those gloomy days also remind me to be thankful for the light of Christ. His light and truth will always warm me from the inside out.

A Look at Isaiah 9:6 - Part 3

I know Christmas is over, but I wanted to finish my little study of Isaiah 9:6. I thought it would be especially appropriate with all the unrest and war going on in the Middle East, and the Ukraine to pause on the last name named, the Prince of Peace.

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace..”

— Isaiah 9:6 (NASB 1995)

Looking at the word prince we get these definitions from Webster’s Online Dictionary: the ruler of a principality or state; male member of a royal family, especially the son of a sovereign. We can see by a few different scriptures that God is the King of Kings. God the Father and Jesus His son, while different are one in the same. What the Father owns, the Son has. The King and the Prince are head, rule and authority over all.

Image by Victoria from Pixabay

“16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

— Revelation 19:16 (ESV)

“9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.”

— Zachariah 14:9 (ESV)

“13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

— 1 Timothy 6:13-16 (NASB 1995)

When we refer to Jesus as the Prince of Peace we are speaking about His authority over all things peaceful. This not only includes written treaties between nations that can’t see eye to eye, but peace within each of us in our chaotic, and fluctuating circumstances. But what does the word peace mean?

Webster’s defines peace in these ways: a state of tranquility or quiet such as: freedom from civil disturbance, or a state of security and order within a community provided for by law or custom; freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions; harmony in personal relations; a state or period of mutual concord between governments; a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity; used as a greeting or farewell.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

The 1960’s and 70’s often used this symbol as a greeting or farewell. It was a way of wishing one another a life of peace and serenity. During those decades, there was unrest in the world and in our country. People did not believe we should be fighting in other people’s wars and protests were plentiful especially on university campuses. The problem that arose is those protests, meant to be peaceful and serene, often became violent, the exact opposite of what the protesters wanted.

We live in a world of unrest. As long as there is sin and darkness in our world there will be war, violence and tragedy. People can work for peace, preach for peace, make laws for peace, fly banners for peace, and have calm, dignified protests for peace, but there will be no peace without Jesus.

In John 16, Jesus is talking to His disciples. He is telling them that He is going to be going away. He explains, if He doesn’t go away, the Helper will not come. The Helper Jesus is referring to is the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say this Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment. Without the guiding of the Holy Spirit, we will continue to live in our sin and selfishness and we will not know peace.

“33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

— John 16:33 (NASB 1995)

The wonderful words that Jesus shares with us are these, “I have overcome the world.” Jesus, our Prince of Peace has overcome this dark, and violent world. He has given us all that we need to have peace.

I want to share more on this truth of our Prince of Peace, so I am going to extend this to next week when I will share with you some of my favorite verses on peace.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. Have a great weekend!

When Darkness Comes - Part 10: The Beauty of His Piercing

As I bring this series to a close, there is still so much to learn and so much to share, but first and foremost, I want you to remember, when you are walking in darkness God is near. We saw how He hovered over the darkness of the deep at the beginning of creation, and how He is not only within the darkness, but He is in control of it. I want you to remember that whatever comes into your life passes first through the hands of the Almighty, and with that thought the reminder that His is good.

Image by Peter H from Pixabay

I have also been sharing with you my own experience of walking in the dark by sharing heart felt words written in my journal. As a believer, writer and person of deep emotion, I have found journalling a great way to work through hard times and even harder feelings. I want you to understand how important it is to acknowledge our feelings and bring them before the Lord. I want you to be able to throw off those false faces we so often wear, so that you can live a life that is as real and raw as possible. Life is hard, but our God is powerful.

In the Old Testament, The book of Exodus gives many details of the Israelite’s captivity by Egypt and the freedom following when God worked through Moses. It also gives many of the laws and ordinances they people of Israel were expected to follow.

““Now these are the ordinances which you are to set before them:

2 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall leave as a free man without a payment to you.
3 If he comes alone, he shall leave alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall leave with him.
4 If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave alone.
5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’
6 then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.”

— Exodus 21:1-6 (NASB)

Image by Willi Heidelbach from Pixabay

As you can see from the passage, over the years, if a slave was treated well, he might begin to see his master as part of his family. When the time of his slavery came to an end, he could decide to stay with his master permanently. We might wonder why a slave would do this, but it makes sense. If the slave had come to take a wife and have his own family over the course of his confinement, he would be choosing between his freedom and his family, because the female slave he married, is still the property of the master. Choosing to remain with his master allowed him to stay with his family. When he made this choice, his ear would be pierced with an awl to show that he was permanently bonded to the lord of the house.

I love how the things God ordained and revealed in the Old Testament become analogies for our spiritual walk. The piercing of the ear showed a choice on the part of the slave to be permanently part of the household and family of the lord of the estate. In the same way, when we choose to allow God to pierce our hearts with the truth of His word, we become more invested in the desire, and work of the Master. Suddenly, the things that didn’t seem to make sense, become understandable. The darkness that seemed as though it would swallow us whole, becomes filled with pin pricks of light, creating hope in our weary hearts.

Image by Yuri_B from Pixabay

When I went through that particularly dark time a few months ago, I shared with you the process I went through as I wrestled with my own feelings and God’s truth. I have long struggled with my self-worth and self-image. We live in a world where comparison is the norm and no matter how often people say, “Don’t compare yourself to others,” “Get over yourself,” “You are being selfish if you have those thoughts and feelings,” or “You are unique and beautiful,” the fact is we still compare, feel bad about ourselves, guilty about what we did wrong, or didn’t do right, and all the other messages we hear. Only God can lift us out of the mire we and others have placed us into.

The morning after I had journaled all of those pages, where I ranted, acknowledged, remembered and ruminated, the Lord took His sword and pierced my heart. I woke up that morning, not really feeling victorious, but remembering I was waiting on the Lord in the strength of His might. I knew He would bring me out of that darkness when He was ready. I leaned into what I knew. Yes, I would have loved to have gotten up that morning feeling like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, but I didn’t. In addition to remembering what He had shown me over the last few days about His truth, I chose to focus on Him.

As I was putting on my make up, I decided to listen to a Beth Moore Podcast. The title of the podcast was Measureless Love, Part 1 (April 13, 2020). Why I picked that podcast on that day is a God thing. You see the thing I was struggling with the most was feeling loved. Yes I knew in my head my family loved me. I knew if I ever needed them, I could call on the friends that I have and they would be there for me, but still, the doubt that anyone truly loved me was like a disease in my mind. After all, I was not, nor ever would be, enough.

The fact that Beth Moore’s podcast was on God’s measureless love was no accident. What struck me was the idea, which Beth pointed out, that God is a God of measurements and preciseness. Think about the earth, sun, stars and other heavenly bodies. If our earth was just a smidge closer to the sun it would be too hot to support life. Just a smidge further away and it would be to cold to support life.

Look at these other examples in Scripture, of God’s precise measurements:

Image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay

“Then God said to Noah, “The end of humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and [m]cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 Now behold, I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 As for you, take for yourself some of every food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.” 22 So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.”

— Genesis 6:13-22 (NASB)

“10 “Now they shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ”

— Exodus 25:10 (NASB)

“And you shall make an atoning cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ”

— Exodus 25:17 (NASB)

“Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and violet, purple, and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements. 3 Five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another. 4 You shall make loops of violet on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. 5 You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite each other. 6 You shall also make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a unit.”

— Exodus 26:1-6 (NASB)

“4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
5 Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the measuring line over it?
6 On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,”

— Job 38:4-6 (NASB)

I could go on, sharing passage after passage about God’s attention to detail, specifically to that of measurement. From laying the foundations of the earth, to the tabernacle to the temple, God is a God of preciseness…except in the area of His love. When it comes to God’s love, it is measureless.

“My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.”

— Ephesians 3:14-19 (The Message)

I typically don’t use too many different translations of the Bible. I prefer the New American Standard or the New International Version, but I wanted to give you a version of this passage that would drive the point home. In my opinion, this is beautifully written. Truly, the dimensions of Christ’s love are extravagant.

“11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our form;
He is mindful that we are nothing but dust.”

— Psalm 103:11-14 (NASB)

When God pierces our hearts, He drives home His truth to the extent that we cannot question its source or its author. God’s love for me is measureless. You know how I know this to the very core of my being? When I was in darkness, questioning the truth of love in my life, again, He took the time to orchestrate my circumstances to remind me, He loves me without measure, again. You see, he has done this for me before; not in the same way, but in a way that meant something to me. This time, it pierced me. When the piercing happens it cannot be undone.

Just like that slave, who chose to have his ear pierced with the awl, as a reminder to himself and everyone he chose to stay with his master, so too God’s piercing in our lives is a reminder, a place we can return to if we ever doubt.

Next week I will wrap this series up with a review. Until then, have a great weekend!

Be Encouraged! Remembering Jesus.

During this time of unrest, pandemic chaos and general fear I have been trying to focus on encouragement. We all need encouragement in difficulty and this is no exception. We do not know what each day will hold, whether it be the boredom of the same old routine and not being able to travel, visit or just enjoy those things in life that involve being around other people, or it may be the fear of having to go to your job as a server, retail worker, or essential worker. We do not know when we might get into a volatile situation arising from misunderstanding or the tensions of racial disparity and lack of options for communicating clearly and with kindness. Whatever, you are facing today, I hope this post will bring you back to center and remind you why you can be encouraged.

Image by Silviu Costin Iancu from Pixabay

Last week I did a post called, Be Encouraged! Remembering God. If you haven’t read that post just click on the link. I looked at four reasons we can be encouraged by remembering who God is. This week I would like to look at who Jesus is and why these characteristics can be a source of encouragement.

Jesus is fully man.

Image by ariyandhamma from Pixabay

Why would the fact that Jesus was a man be an encouragement to us? His humanity proves He is completely able to understand our humanity. Think about what it took for Jesus, who is equal with God, to become a man. It would be like you or I decided to become an ant. Becoming a man took Jesus from the realm of heaven where He is an all powerful being, God’s only Son, to a realm where He was confined and felt hunger, fatigue, pain and even sadness and fear. Obviously, Jesus was still fully God and how the two of these things worked together is a mystery, but they did. Jesus gets you!

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

— John 1:14 (NASB)

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

— 1 Timothy 2:5 (NASB)

“but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

— Philippians 2:7 (NASB)

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

— Hebrews 4:15 (NASB)

I love the photo above. I think this statue of Jesus with the children, really shows His engagement as a fully human individual. He is on their level, talking to them and acknowledging their value and worth. Just think what a better world we would be living in, if we all engaged with each other in this way.

Jesus is fully God.

Image by Karin Henseler from Pixabay

This is an encouragement to me, because all that Christ did as man would be nullified, if he wasn’t also, fully God. Being God, He was there at the beginning when the world was formed into existence and life was breathed into man. Being God, He was present in heaven when Satan decided he too wanted to be as powerful as God. Being God, He knew the depth of the power and glory being this divine individual gave Him, yet, He gave it all up to do His Father’s will and to save us.

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”

— Colossians 2:9 (NASB)

“I and the Father are one.”

— John 10:30 (NASB)

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,”

— Colossians 1:19 (NASB)

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

— Hebrews 1:3 (NASB)

Jesus does what we can not.

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

There are many things Jesus does that we can not, but I wanted to look at three and talk about why remembering that can be encouraging to us.

1 - Redeemed - the word redeem means to free from captivity by payment of a ransom. When sin came into the world, we were all under the penalty of that choice in the Garden, the penalty of enslavement to Satan and eventually both physical and spiritual death. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins He redeemed us. He bought us out of captivity and set us free.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—”

— Galatians 3:13 (NASB)

“so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

— Galatians 4:5 (NASB)

“who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

— Titus 2:14 (NASB)

When we were under the thumb of our enemy we were slaves to fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, hate, deception and numerous other feelings and emotions that kept us bound. If we are redeemed by Jesus we are free of those things. We have a choice to not be held captive by the darkness of evil.

2 - Justified - The word justify means to show to be just or righteous. When we decided to believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, He immediately justifies us before His Father. He shows His Father His nail pierced hands, and feet and his sword pierced side and God recognizes the sacrifice made and the blood spilt for our sakes.

“being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

— Romans 3:24 (NASB)

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

— Romans 5:1 (NASB)

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

— Romans 5:9 (NASB)

Image by Lisa Johnson from Pixabay

3 - Sanctified - This word means to set apart and free from sin. It is my belief that redemption is a one time event, when we put our faith in Christ, where as, sanctification is ongoing. Jesus continually frees us from sin. We are able to sin less and less, because of this act of sanctification.

“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

— Hebrews 10:14 (NASB)

“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

— Hebrews 10:10 (NASB)

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

— John 17:17 (NASB)

Redemption, justification and sanctification are all part of the enveloping love of Christ. Knowing that He did, does and will do these things gives me great comfort. I do not have to strive to be perfect, His blood has made me so. This leads me to the final point I want to make.

Jesus’ peace is perfect.

Probably the thing we are struggling with most during this difficult time, is the ability to have peace. Peace is not something that comes easily. Most often we have to fight for it, just like over the centuries we have had to fight for the freedoms and peace of nations and peoples. However, peace is definitely something worth fighting for. In a spiritual sense, peace must come from a source, much like a lake, river or stream is only full when it is fed, either by rain showers or a hidden spring. Our hidden spring is Jesus.

“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.”

— Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””

— John 16:33 (ESV)

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

— Psalm 4:8 (ESV)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

— Romans 5:1 (ESV)

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

I have found the best way to have peace during troubling times is to redirect my thoughts from the overwhelming deluge of media voices and turn them back to Jesus and His word.

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

— Philippians 4:4-9 (ESV)

Be encouraged, God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ is with you and they do not change. Their care is constant, their love is sure, their forgiveness true, and their peace unfathomable. Draw on it.

Light Beyond the Darkness

As the days begin to shorten and I realize the seasons are about to change again, I grow more reflective of the seasons of life. I am sure it is because I am getting older. Age has a tendency to make us more aware of our limitations, weaknesses and failed plans. But it also has the capacity to make us more aware of what is really important and help us to focus on our blessings rather than our difficulties.

As we were driving this evening the sun was getting low on the horizon. Though I didn't see it actually set I could tell, it was going to be spectacular. The sky was streaked with brushstrokes of cloud residue. So often when that happens the sun reflects off the clouds in a brilliant display of orange, pink, red and purple. I have found in my 50 plus years fall sunsets can be some of the most stunning.

As I looked at the beauty the Master Painter created for our good pleasure, I thought about the sunsets of life. Sometimes, when we know the darkness is coming we grow anxious and fearful. The realization hit me, however, that we would not have the stunning sunsets if darkness did not come. We would not have some of the spectacular sunrises either. Darkness is a part of the cycle God put into place to bring rest and repose.

“1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the sky displays his handiwork.
2 Day after day it speaks out;
night after night it reveals his greatness.
3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its voice literally heard.
4 Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth;
its words carry to the distant horizon.
In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun.”

— Psalm 19:1 - 4 (NET)

Darkness is the absence of light. That could refer to the light of day, the light of a candle or that of an electric light bulb. Darkness can also refer to a lack of understanding. There are times in life when, not only does the way seem dark, but we also travel the path without understanding. We need to remember that outside of the darkness there is light. 

Rebecca Trumbull.

“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”

— John 12:46 (NASB)

If you are in a house, board up all the windows and cover those with room darkening drapes, you will be in the dark, but the light is still glowing outside of your house. If you descend into a cave with no flashlight or matches and candle, you will be in the dark, but the light is still glowing up on the surface.

To me, what seems the most overwhelming about darkness is the absence of light. If I can't see the light, I feel as though I am suffocating and all of life is about to end. But the reality is, light is still glowing, I just have to remember that. When I come to terms with the fact that I am closer to seeing the sun set, than I am to seeing the sun rise and I can remember that just the other side of that darkness I am about to face there is light....perhaps it will go easier.

Pixabay

When God's face seems hidden by the darkness or by the clouds, remember that Jesus is walking on the tops of those clouds. When the path seems dark, perhaps is it best to stop walking for a while, stop fumbling in the dark. Take a deep breath, sit a spell and remember He is the light.

Jesus said of Himself, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12 - NASB)

Lessons in the Dark

I find inspiration for my writing in the oddest places, but then I guess that is what makes writing for me so much fun. I can look at a situation and think, "Oh cool! I could write about this or that!" I suppose it is something akin to a photographer or an artist finding inspiration in something as grand as a sunset or as simple as a bowl of fruit. The grand things of life are full of titillating word choices and descriptive metaphors, but how do I take the simple things and find beauty in them? It really comes down to perspective. 

Photo Credit Valerie Boltneva on StockSnap

The apostle Paul knew about perspective. He went from being a vehement hater of Christians to being the foremost authority on Jesus Christ. Paul went from the darkness of not knowing Christ to the light of knowing and being fully known and loved by that same One he had early on, persecuted.

When we were packing up our campsite Friday morning we noticed a particularly strange smell emanating from beneath our tent. We noticed it as we took out the tent poles and stakes and began rolling up the tent. My husband is a pro at problem solving, he teaches logic after all! He stuck his nose right next to the tent floor as he was rolling it up. Then he brought it over to me and said, "Smell!" Hesitantly, I stuck my nose to the floor of the tent. It didn't smell at all. 

We had placed a large piece of black plastic as a ground cloth beneath the tent to help preserve the floor and keep moisture, sand and gravel from making our clean up more laborious. When we pulled the plastic back to start cleaning it off we were disgusted by the smell and the number of species of creepy crawlies that had taken up residence beneath our canvas condo! Eeeeewwwwww!

My spouse quickly decided we really did not need to keep that black plastic, rolled it up and promptly placed it in the garbage. While he walked the short distance to the camp garbage cans I looked at the space our tent had previously occupied. It was wet with condensation from camping in the hot Florida sun. The bugs were quickly finding other dark places to hide or being eaten by some of the many anole lizards that resided in the camp's palm, sand and myrtle oak trees. I was shocked to find in the middle of all this putrefaction a tiny frog. As an average citizen, who gets a good percent of my knowledge off the internet, it appeared to be a Squirrel Tree frog. When I noticed him, he was a light tan color, blending in perfectly with the sand and gravel under our tent.

I'm sure this little guy didn't comprehend the danger he was in when he wiggled his way under our tent. We have no idea how long he had been there, but it was obvious he had gone under there to feast! It was a bug buffet and he was getting in for free. I realized as I looked at this odd little creature that my husband or I could have stepped on him and never even known!

That tiny little frog, who simply makes our lives better by eating lots of bugs taught me some very important lessons. First of all, there is danger in living at the beck and call of our appetites. The frog is merely doing what its God given tendencies tell it to do, in other words finding creepy breakfast food in dark, moist places. But how often do I give in to my appetites? In all honesty, daily. I struggle with eating well, exercising, not spending too much and so on. Many people struggle with "bugs" that are much bigger and more addicting that my own, and their living at least part of their life in the moist darkness of putrefaction. The greater our lives are lived in darkness the less we will know and identify with the light.

Photo Credit Matthew Wiebe on StockSnap

That brings me to another important lesson learned from the frog: just because it is available, doesn't mean it is necessarily what is best for you. There are all sorts of delicacies available to wet our appetites. Food, entertainments, sex are all things that can be good when used in the appropriate ways under the appropriate circumstances, but living under the tent floor can make a person forget what is good.

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”

— John 8:12 (NASB)

Our little frog friend had a somewhat baffled look on his face when we pulled off that black plastic and exposed him to the light. I've seen people look that way, when they start hearing the words of Jesus from the Bible. The frog, of course went about his way, slowly crawling across the open space and hopefully back to a place of safety. But people don't have to listen. They don't have to care whether they are under the tent floor, dangerously close to getting squashed. They can just keep on feeding their appetites oblivious to the dangers looming over them.

Get out of the darkness and back into the light. As His creation that is exactly where we belong!