“…walk in the light, as He is in the light…” (1 John 1:7)
This chilly morning as I sat here, enjoying my first cup of coffee, I observed my big fluffy black cat, Sheba, stretched out contentedly in the living room floor. Her favorite way to lie is flat on her back, oddly, which I’ve read signifies that an animal completely trusts its surroundings. I see her that way daily, and yet this morning I noticed something a little different…it was her location. She had picked a spot in the floor where a small ray of sunshine found its way through our venetian blind, and was enjoying the warmth of that light.
How many times, especially as of late, with so many bad news segments on television and in the papers, do we walk around in a thick fog of negativity? Honestly, sometimes I have to disconnect completely from the news, the Internet, from all those sources that remind me what a dark, desperate world in which we live. It’s a place out there where Jesus said that, in the last days, the love of many would grow cold. If we dwell on that for very long, we find ourselves downright discouraged and depressed!
BUT! Just like my kitty, Sheba, I’ve found a ray of sunshine in the middle of the chilly darkness. My hope is in the Lord. It can be utter chaos all around me; and yet, in that ray of the warmth of God’s goodness and enduring mercy, I find solace. David sang in Psalm 23 that the Lord prepared a table for him in the presence of his enemies. He spoke of various dangers all around him, and how he didn’t have to fear because God was with him. And although at times I’m described as being unrealistic and wearing “rose-colored glasses,” it doesn’t deter my faith in that ray of light. When I get into the presence of God, it is warm. It is safe. It is illuminated. And, there is peace. Then, whenever I must walk through the dark places, I don’t have to succumb to despair. The light waits for me at the edge of that darkness.
You may have been in the shadows for so long that the light hurts your eyes. That’s ok…squint if you have to…but come to the warm light of God. Your eyes will adjust! This is a place where you can receive a garment of praise in exchange for the spirit of heaviness. It’s a place where, although you can see things falling apart all around you, you are safe. You can stretch out, find rest; and like Miss Sheba, expose your vulnerabilities to the Father of lights. He will not betray your trust. He will not snuff out your smouldering wick if you feel burned out and faltering.
Find your Source of hope today…in the presence of the Lord. It’s awfully nice in here…and there’s room for whosoever will!
CALL THOSE THINGS 