Friends, I’ve had a string of hard days. It is one thing to have a bad day here and there, but when there are too many in a row, it becomes a weighty load.
Someone special dies. My child has a rough road after a procedure. A friend falls and we take her to the ER. Drama—not mine. And regretfully some of my own. Oh! How it all begins to weigh me down: I am fragile to begin with. For years, I hated my need! At times, I still do. However, most of the time I own it. I’m needy and Jesus is ready to meet my needs—when I let Him.
Sometimes circumstances feel like tsunamis that upends my faith, drowns my hope, and batters my joy—when I let them. And some days I do!
Somedays, I don’t have my anchor in place, and I get pulled along by the wake of the raging storm. Or even when I am anchored, the blunt force of the storm disorients me. For a bit, I can’t regain my bearings enough to cling to The One who buoys me.
The darkness encroaches, covers, and then suffocates me. In futility, I try to grasp for some control and bail out a bucket or two of darkness, then bail some more. Nothing changes. Dark is dark and it is there to stay.
Until, you turn on the light. Darkness flees. It is that simple.
Today I blew up my friends phones with texts to pray! I was desperate for God to answer me! Light.
I owned my need: I owned my shortcomings. Light.
I trusted my friends with my mess. I let them love and encourage me. Light.
I went for a walk and breathed fresh air and looked at beauty. Light. I shared the beauty. Light.
The light comes on. Not all at once, because I am still focused on my problems, but I’m seeing light in the darkness. And I can breathe again.
Jesus came, as The Light, to overcome the darkness. He did! And He still is, one dark corner at a time. He lights my darkness and He will yours.
Today, instead of trying in vain to bail out darkness, I bailed on darkness. Instead, I began to look to the light, seek the light, turn on the light. Everything isn’t better, but it is getting better. And even if it doesn’t get better—or when the next wave comes to knock me down—I’ll be looking for the light. Instead of gazing intently at adversity, I’ll be looking for His Light and His light switches to light the darkness.
I pray you bail on darkness and turn on the light. I pray you see the light in the middle of the storm. I pray you see The Light. I pray that you know, that when you cannot find your bearings, He still has a hold of you! And I pray you reach out for your “light switches”, the people and things that point you back to things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
In Jesus name.
Uncovered 