Light in the Darkness

Light in the Darkness

Sometimes after Christmas, the whole world seems to let out a deep sigh of resignation to the coming winter and the passing of the holiday season. It can be a dreary time for many, especially this year as so many issues continue to drag on around the world. This year for many has been a long, dreary one to begin with, and yet the change to the new year will not necessarily instantly change all of that. We may be excited to see this year pass on, but the change of circumstance may still be some time off.

I cracked a bit of a smile last month when God reminded me of how His word for me this year was “Follow.” I realized that the reason for this was because most of the year I had no idea what was coming next or what I should do, so I simply had to follow as He led. He kept bringing Isaiah 30:21 to me, where He says a voice behind us will call out right or left as we walk. And I kept thinking that I’d love a little more of a heads-up when it comes to directions than just a quick word right as I should be making a turn! But that’s walking moment-by-moment with Him, and there is a sweetness to recognizing His love in directing our steps.

This coming year I have received the phrase “Light in Darkness” and am eager to see how God will bring that about. There is something so significant about light to God. The first words He spoke in creating the world were “Let there be Light!” And He calls Jesus the Light of the world, and also us as believers. Darkness cannot remain when a light enters a room. It must flee. I wonder how often I have tried to drive out darkness in so many different ways, when all I needed to do was bring the Light. And we always have Light—for He dwells within us, shining through all our cracks to bring Light to darkness.

Weariness and Fruit

Weariness and Fruit

Anyone else a little weary? I find myself tired sometimes before I even start the day. Political conflict, divisive arguing, virus protection and discussion, people’s problems and our own—all of it makes us exhausted and spent very quickly.

Sometimes, I forget to remember that my worth is not defined by productivity, or stick-to-it-ness. Sometimes when I’m weary, I end up berating myself with guilt on top of things—and it’s a terrible perfect storm to make it even worse. Instead of walking in step with Jesus, and being the branch on the Vine that requires His Life to do anything that sows into the Spirit-life, I get distracted thinking it’s all up to me and I better get with it. As much as that looks like sowing good seed, it’s actually my flesh trying to sort it out on my own, and it’s unproductive.

I was chatting with a friend recently who gave me a great reminder. She told me that her friend had made her a little sign that asked “What are we doing today, Jesus?” My friend hung it across from her bed, so every morning when she woke up, it was the first thing she saw. What a difference it makes to wake up in step with Jesus and to keep coming back to that, rather than pushing off on our own agenda of what we think we need to accomplish today.

The Good News

The Good News

Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of the Gospel or good news of Jesus is that God didn’t choose to rescue us by ridding the world of evil, but rather ridding us of evil. We would like the suffering, the struggle, the darkness to go away and leave us in peace. Peace is defined by the absence of chaos, rather than trying to define peace in the middle of the mess. We also decide that God is acting only when the situation turns out as we wanted it to, with the least discomfort.

The truth, though, is that God ached for relationship with us, relationship that we had rejected in Adam and Eve way back in the garden. We want to blame Eve quite often, and think we would have made a different decision. But at the heart of every person is the desire to be their own god, controlling their own destiny and being powerful in their own right. They rejected relationship with God. I want to think that I would have chosen walking with God in the garden over the fruit that would make me like God, but in reality, God knew I wouldn’t have. None of us would have.

So, He sent a part of Himself in Jesus to make a way, and to make a different decision. He chose to humble Himself. He was God, but chose to empty Himself of that power, and become a human—the opposite direction of the humans trying to be god unto themselves. Everything that Jesus did on earth was because of His connection to the Father and the Spirit—the union of the Godhead was perfectly demonstrating the union He wants with us. He wants to participate in each part of our lives, empowering us through dependence and connection to Him, rather than us empowering ourselves through intelligence or independence. It feels all backwards for the American culture of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. But it’s a relationship that God desires—not a dictatorship or slavery.

Walking with the broken to find hope in Jesus