Light
I recently moved from the sunny coast of Biloxi, Mississippi to Washington, DC. Both cities are great places to live. Each home has its highs and lows. But I have been finding myself missing what I had to let go of.
DC is exciting and I’m happy to gather all my energy, which is a lot, and go out to encounter it. I’m an adventurer and I have found so many wonderful things here in the “big” city. There is never a dull moment, and I have so many people in my life that are seriously dear to me. All this being true, I haven’t felt as full as I did just a few short months ago. I find myself missing the sunny disposition and belly laughs of a Cajun culture.
And I’ve been missing the light. I have had to transition from days that ended at 8p or 9p to days that end at 4:30p. I’m sure that I’m not alone in struggling with change or shifts in season. I have been experiencing this very real and present struggle and taking it to the Lord. I had to ask, “God who are you in my darkness?” He answered, “I am light”.
God is light. From the first utterance of His word He spoke to us about His character. In the beginning there was nothing but darkness and He spoke.
Genesis 1:1-5, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”
God is the light that is better than the sun.
1 John 1:5 tells us who God is, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
God is the light we need to experience comfort in any circumstance. John the Baptist and Paul understood darkness. Even while they were imprisoned they allowed the Lord to be their light.
While imprisoned John the Baptist was in great despair and he cried out to Christ, sending word to Him to ask in Mathew 11:3, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Jesus poured His light over John by sending His prompt answer in Mathew 11:4-6, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
We know that Paul danced in the glorious light of Christ from behind bars. Acts 16:25 tells us, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
Jesus is not only the light in our darkness, He is also the light that eliminates any darkness in our soul.
God is the light that illuminates who we were meant to be. If He could take nothingness and complete darkness and pierce it with warmth surely He can squelch any darkness in us. With just a word he created light. With just a word, I know He can pierce our rebellious souls with warmth. After all we were created in the garden, in His presence, full of light. The fact that we hide ourselves and cover our faces is not an obstacle that He can’t overcome. If only we came to Him for that word, for the utterance that would create light, we could lounge in full submission and exposure. Coming to the Lord for this word, we come in prayer. Coming to the Lord for this word, we come to take in scripture. And this light fills us so much that we become radiant.
Have you ever seen someone that is so full of the Spirit that they glow? I certainly have and it is beautiful. We want to emanate the light of God, so we can carry evidence of His presence.
Proverbs 4:18 tells us that as we walk in righteousness we shine. “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”
I am sure that whatever darkness we face in our hidden inward places or in our undeniably difficult circumstances, God can bring light and life into them. He is the light in our darkness. If we are struggling with short days this season, let’s bask in the light that is better than the sun. If we are hiding our fears and anxieties, let’s expose ourselves to the one who creates. We CAN live with heaven touching earth.
Isaiah 60:19-20, “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”
