It appears there are two, but there are four.
Darkness skews our vision.
Deceives us.
Lies.
It masks reality.
When it feels like there is only darkness around you and before you, remember the light is always behind you.
Shining.
Guiding.
Supporting.
Lighting the way.
Leading to paths of rest, redemption and righteousness.
Don’t give up.
The darkness, no matter how deceptive it is, will never extinguish the hope that is exclusive to the Light.
When the sadness of the world is shutting the doors of your heart, open them up more.
When persecution is preying on your joy, look for reasons to praise more.
When grief says the world will never be like before, gratify Jesus more.
When you want to give up, instead give more.
When there seems to be no love left, love more.
Evil only wins if we lose our light to the lust, lies, and lawlessness of the world. When you want to surrender shine more.
In the morning, I rise from the womb of the night ready another day to carry my cross. My spirit not yet refreshed until with a single opening of the window I gaze to the heavens, and my eyes immediately find you there. You beckon, it is I. I am here. Get under my yoke today and walk with me. Two are better than one and I am much stronger. You were not created to bear your load alone. A hush settles over my heart, and my soul is soothed by your presence. Now I am ready to shine for You today! Let you light be seen today, friends. He is in the midst of every mess.
When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. I would go to bed paralyzed with fear. Only two things comforted me, a light so I could see through the darkness and the presence of someone I trusted to take care of me. Without those two securities, my situation was hopeless. I did not rest, and my mind became a battlefield generating fear faceted thoughts that terrified me relentlessly.
I am not that child that is afraid of the dark anymore, but I am still that child who is prone to fear and needs light, and the presence of someone else who I trust and know will take care of me. I have both in One, and so do you.
The situation you are facing today; the one that is terrifying you; it does not have to control you. The One you keep company with controls all things. He conquers, commands and contains all things. At times when you feel abandoned by Him, perhaps you forgot to turn the light on. Psalm 119:105 tells us God’s word is light. ~Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Once you have light, it is easier to mind your mind so that you may take captive every fraudulent thought and rest in what is promised you.
You are not doomed to your darkness today unless you choose to be. Pay attention to what and Who you are paying attention to. Ask for the grace to focus on your Savior, not your situation. It can be a challenge. I know, friends.
Father give peace to your children who are surrounded by darkness today. Carve a cleft of protection for them to seek shelter in as you did for Moses. Give them full assurance of your presence and protection. Gratify them with your glory today, Father. Amen.
I have to be honest even when honesty feels scary. Today I feel an incongruence in my heart about celebrating our freedom. The tone of our world right now feels more about imprisonment and fear than independence and freedom.
Are we free? We are burning one another’s churches. Are we free when we are judging and persecuting one another’s sin with a blindness to our own? Our young women and children are being sold into slavery and Americans are committing unthinkable crimes against Americans. Are we free?
I saw an add this morning that said, “freedom is never given, it is won. Many brave men and women have sacrificed immensely, some everything, to keep us safe. They are true heroes, and I will never forget their loyalty, courage, and dedication.
From a different perspective, though, if we are followers of Jesus, the story reads a little different. Our freedom was both won and given. If I look at our world, I often become discouraged and angry. This world feeds us a lot more fear than freedom. Only Jesus gives us the freedom from that fear.
Today more than ever, it is crucial that we fix our eyes on Him. Today more than ever it is vital that we base our hope and our future on our providential creator, not our presidential candidate. Our power, our protection, our purpose and our plan does not come from anything or anyone authentic to this world, but the Author of this world. We must ask Him to use us as vessels of his peace and His purpose. All of us individually must decide to get out in this world and make a difference. We cannot afford to wait for someone else to do it.
We must put idol aside to pursue intentional.
I don’t think our presence in this world is to lead people to delight, but disturbance colored in shades of hope and kindness.
Until we are confused, we will always be content.
There are a lot of good people doing a lot of good in this world. Today I pray we highlight more of the good that is pervasively present than the evil that is persistently pursuing. Darkness can take many things away from us, but not our choices. An inactive light cannot be seen. We must shine our lights! Let’s celebrate the freedom to pursue purposeful paths today.
I know a lot of you are facing some very difficult circumstances. Trails and hardships that threaten your desire to wake up, to get dressed, to smile, and carry on. I can confidently say I am familiar with that place. A few years ago, I went through a trial that positioned me in such despair that I gained a new identity-victim. Life alternates between numbness, crying, anger and fear there. I was drowning in a set of circumstances with no life preserver.
Why? I had plenty of friends for support. I went to a good church, and had all my life. I had a supportive family. I had every provision I needed. I had…I had…I had so much, yet none of it was enough to save me from my own despair. It was there, broken and helpless, that God found me.
It’s a perplexing thing to understand. I had been in church all my life. He hadn’t found me, or I him before? No! I had found a religion, not a relationship. I had found a lot of laws, not a lot of grace. I had found a lot of truth and not a lot of freedom. I had found a book called the Bible, but not the gospel. I had heard but I didn’t really hear. I saw, but didn’t really see, and I knew, but didn’t really know, didn’t really know-HIM.
It was not until I entered the darkest place that I began to find the light. For when things are always bright we cannot see, and when we cannot see we will eventually stumble. I say all this to encourage you that when life feels overwhelming, unbearable and hopeless, we can choose hope and peace, because it is in the darkness that we see the light, and it is only by the light that we find our way.
Rescue comes in the Relationship, and I did very little on my own to initiate that. All I did was start showing up, and some days it was a battle to do that! I can tell you, though, once you have been dragged through a dense forest, once you have been redeemed from victim to victor, subsequent trails, which are no doubt inevitable, become such a different experience! If for no other reason they draw us into compete lack of self-sufficiency, and into complete dependance upon a Savior. The more you need someone, the more you get to know them. Then a curious thing happens, the more you get to know Jesus, the more you want to spend time with him, and it only gets sweeter from there.
I’m not going to lie, some circumstances are outright unthinkable, but you can choose to find one positive thing in the midst of them, and that is an invitation…come broken, come messy, come weary, come over burdened-just come! I will personally testify-HE will meet you there. Trust me, I am there a lot, and I do know!