Sunday, January 23, 2011

Insight Out of Darkness ~ 2

    The Lord turns my darkness into light. 2 Samuel 22:29
How does the Bible fit into your life? Do you ignore the word of God until your life's gone wrong? Do you  feel  the presence of God  when you're in trouble? Do you curse God because you don't believe  He's there for you? Giving this some thought, you may soon realize that it's actually the person in trouble who isn't close to God, not the other way around.

 Having lived without connecting to God, you may not find Him--or feel His presence--when you're in trouble. The reason there's no light upon your path  is that the right path hasn't been  followed. Scripture shines the light of truth on your path in life when the words aren't only written in the pages of the Bible, but also in your heart.

Having stored the words in your heart, they are there in times of trouble. How do you experience spiritual darkness? For many of us, it  manifests itself in some kind of temptation, or in an overwhelming loneliness, or maybe in a bout of fear. But if God's word is a part of who we are--our essence--it will be a familiar guide to us through all of our dark troubles.

In this chapter of Meeting God in Quiet Places: the Cotswold Parables, F. LaGard Smith says that after his father died, he could still hear his words in his mind. But LaGard says: "Of course, there is an important difference between my earthly father and my heavenly father. My heavenly Father's voice is not just a memory. Through his Word and through his Spirit, he speaks to me every day. He is literally with me at every moment. Never am I without his involvement in my life. Far greater even than being in the grip of the familiar, I am in HIS grip!" Shouldn't that be true for all Christians?

We're all familiar with Psalm 23, which reminds us that King David felt the same way: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." David walked with God throughout his life, and because of his relationship with God through good times and bad, he wasn't afraid to die.
                                       
What was in David's heart when he wrote: "If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you."

Was David talking about dark nights in the fields as a young shepherd boy? Or dark nights because of his moral sin? We may not know what he was thinking, but we understand what he expresses:  God shines the light of truth on everything we do. We cannot escape it.

Darkness represents our despair, our need, our times of loneliness and lostness. It's all about trusting God in the darkness, whatever the darkness may be. The Creator of light wants to guide us with His true light throughout our lives. While groping along our earthly path, we need light to take us in the paths of right living. And, in the end, we need light to lead us safely home. So many of us live in darkness most of the time. Why not choose to live in the light?

I hope your weekend was a good one with your family. Have a good week! 
Blessings...Mimi




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