For all of God’s missionaries, at home and abroad, who carry his candle to dispel the world’s darkness.
We overslept this morning. The alarm didn’t ring because the alarm wasn’t set. 6:15 AM came and went with nary a nod of acknowledgement from my household. 7:30 fared better. By 7:30, we were all awake. And had it not been for one thing, I imagine we might still be sleeping.
Light.
The culprit behind our reprimand … our notice … our awareness that a new day has been gloriously granted to us, despite our willingness to forego the fanfare.
Try as we may, we cannot escape light’s grip. We can pull the blinds and draw the curtains so as to diminish its brilliance, but we cannot eliminate its arrival. Light simply and profoundly comes.
To awaken us from our slumber.
To rouse us from our laziness.
To raise us up from our lying down.
To stir our spirits toward action.
To heighten our awareness.
To warm us from the chill of a night’s embrace.
To free us from the confines of our covers.
To gift us with the beauty of a new day.
To remind us that not even the darkest shade of night is permanent.
Light comes to bear witness to the illumination of God’s presence in our lives. Darkness isn’t safe from the penetration of God’s candle—God’s flicker of hope. There is no darkness that comes to us that doesn’t carry its contrast in close proximity. Light always harbors in the shadows of a night’s pause, readying itself for a grand and sacred interruption into the darkness.
And lest we think there are days when “light” forgets to come—days when light decides to “take a pass” regarding its purpose—there hasn’t been a day since the beginning of time when “light” didn’t shine its witness. Not one. Light may seem hidden, removed and obscured from our visioning, but light is ever-present because light is the living characteristic of a living Creator who lives in our every day. He cannot be separated from his creation, and he never “takes a pass” on his days.
Light follows God wherever he goes. And today, he goes where you go. Where I go. Where my kids go and where his saints go. Even where the sinners go. Why? Because for light to be light, for light to shine its worth and harbor the full spectrum of its truthful meaning, it must be available in the darkest of nights to the darkest of souls.
I’m not one who believes that light is selective in its appearing, is choosy and is particular about where it shines. And while it is true that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all,” (see 1 John 1:5) the greater truth is that God’s light has come to dispel that very darkness; to replace the night’s isolation with the witness of a day’s illumination.
Even the darkest of nights is as light to Jesus Christ. Only he is able to mediate his way through the lingering depth of a night’s pause to light a candle in honor of a new day … a new way … a new heart … a new forever.
Fourteen years ago, my light—Jesus Christ—traveled the depth of a night’s long lingering in order to interrupt my darkness with the flicker of his sustaining truth. That single candle of hope carried to me in the “dark night of my soul” now burns with the flaming intensity of a miracle. Had God not arrived in my life at that moment, had he allowed the sun a longer season of slumber, I’m pretty sure that the darkness would have been my continuing consumption.
But like my morning this morning, I could not escape light’s grip. For a long season I’d been pulling down the shades in hopes of hiding my sin and of keeping the Son’s brilliance from illuminating my darkness, but my darkness was as light to Jesus. My darkness was the navigational GPS he used to get to me. God found me in my slumber and invited me to the arrival and hope of a new day.
I’m so glad that I had the good sense to wipe away the sleep from my eyes in order to pay attention to the light in his. I’m so thankful that Light didn’t “take a pass” on my darkness but, instead, chose to walk the length and breadth of my sin in order to flame a candle in my honor.
Arise and shine, fellow pilgrims, for your Light has come. May the candle he lights in your honor this day be the fueling behind your future flames, the likes of which this world has never seen. Burn brightly with God’s truth and God’s witness this weekend. What a privilege to carry my candle alongside yours. As always…
peace for the journey,
~elaine
PS: Go visit my friend, Heidi (click here), to learn about an upcoming opportunity to spread the light of Jesus into the far corners of our world.
Now, go light your world…
I continue to be so utterly thankful that we cannot escape the light and moved beyond words when I re-consider how the light swallowed me up when in actuality if it had been left up to me, I would have preferred darkness. I am filled with gratitude that "we cannot escape light's grip."
Shine on – gloriously!
Blessings,
Lori
May we all shine brightly for Jesus.
Beautiful! Just beautiful! Thank goodness for the LIGHT!
Read your earlier post :)–I just love you and your family! Give them all hugs for me!!
Mama is having a mastectomy on Monday. I'll keep you posted
Love you bunches!
Susan
Oh those mornings of deep slumber to have that light shine in. I guess our spirit can go into deep slumber, only the light penetrating that spirit can bring us once again to our feet. I love this. And have leared how to go 0-100 in less than 30 minutes and we are out the door on our way to school. Thanks for sharing your heart.
I pray that the light in me, through my life, dispels the darkness everywhere that I go. I recently saw a video clip that was so good. It was about absolutes and lack of them being evident and what the results of that is. the jest of it was that cold is not absolute, heat is. Cold is the result of the lack of heat. Evil is not absolute, God is. Evil is the result of the lack of God's presence. And, darkness is not absolute, light is. Darkness is the result of the lack of light. In any given place that cold, evil and darkness exist, the entrance of the absolute counterpart dispels the other.
We dispel the darkness with the light of Jesus! Amen!
As believers unite…we can light this world. What a shame if we don't share the cure we know for every darkened soul.
It's a privilege to carry my candle alongside yours, too, Elaine. Blessings to you this weekend!
So thankful for His light…an amazing post, my friend!
Hope everyone got to school/work on time!
Wow, beautiful Elaine. I want to let Him shine through me!
P.S. That is an awesome video. I'm going to borrow it and use it for the giveaway. Thank you, Elaine.
Beautiful thoughts, my friend.
Very touching. I pray that my light would so shine that it would be unmistakable from Christ. Praise God!
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine!
Let it Shine, Let it Shine, Let it Shine!
AMEN!
Wow Elaine, this is perfectly beautiful! The truth of this post is just amazing to me … not a single day has gone by without light!! Even more so… not a single day goes by without Jesus. I am so thankful He chose to shine His light on and in me!! 🙂
Be blessed today friend! 🙂
" … darkness is as light to You."
First, I cannot begin to tell of the value of that truth to me. There have been many a dark, dungeon-like & damp spell settle over my soul. But knowing it was as bright a June's sun to the Lord kept the embers of hope fully alive.
Second, I sense a shifting of style, or intent, or something … in your pen. Not that you haven't always crafted incredible pieces, but these newest ones are richer in some priceless way.
Blessings and hugs!
Kathleen
Thank You Elaine- Beautiful words this morning. I too, slept in a little this morning and the light was already shining through.
How wonderful and comforting to know that His light is always shining leading us out of the darkness to a glorious day.
Blessings~
Marita
I too felt sooo cozy within the safety of my bed and cozy comforter this morning! As I awoke, the familiar scrip II Cor 3:17 was the first thing I read before exiting my comfy cozy place. In the amplified version it reads "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)". What stirred within my heart is "emancipation from bondage, freedom"……….as believers we have been set completely free from DARKNESS and made FREE TO walk in THE LIGHT and FREE TO REFLECT HIS GLORY!
Elaine, I am sooo blessed by your site. Also, my sister and brother-in-law graduated from Asbury and have been pastors for many years and currently pastor in NC. As a child I visited Wilmore often! Small world isn't it!
Sweet Blessings!
Jackie
Elaine, once again you have written an awesome piece of prose.
So many times in the Bible light characterizes good and dark evil. As I read your post today I thought about the day of Christ's crucifixion when as He hung on the cross the light of day was taken away. Evil was thick as He paid for the sins of all the ages. But then the SON rose ….being as He was…the Light of the world. I so look forward to the time we are all in heaven together where there will alway be Light!
Love ya my Friend!
Marilyn…in Mississippi
What a beautiful post Elaine! And I just love this song. I am so glad that I cannot escape Light's grip. Thank you for this wonderful encouragement.
Thank you for visiting my blog today too and for your sweet comments. 🙂
Rich blessings to you!
Love the picture of your family.
Praying for you as you share the Light of the world.
Sweet dreams.
I love The Light! And am so grateful too, that He shattered my night!
Praise the Lord! I was so blessed by your testimony – how Jesus, your Light interrupted the darkness and awakened you to a new day. What a beautiful analogy!
His mercies are new every morning, great is His faithfulness!
Praise God for His light that shines in our hearts, pushing back the darkness…exposing the hiding places of the enemy…giving hope, a new perspective, a new reason to live!
I love the way you put your thoughts about light into words!
Love
Lidj
Hi Mrs. Elaine:) I agree, I need His Light to chase out my darkness…
Blessings,
katiegfromtennessee
What a beautiful analogy. When I read your words, I continually marvel at the gift God has given you to share his light with so many. thank you!
I feel as if I have been commissioned! Good and strong words for me today.
It is gray and rainy here… and I sit and wonder… where is the sun? But I know the TRUTH! The sun is there… I just can't visually see it. It is always there. It is faithful to its calling. Although hidden by clouds today, it is not any less brilliant.
I did need to use my artificial sun lamp today… and a little liquid sunshine, too.
This says it all for me:
"But like my morning this morning, I could not escape light’s grip. For a long season I’d been pulling down the shades in hopes of hiding my sin and of keeping the Son’s brilliance from illuminating my darkness, but my darkness was as light to Jesus. My darkness was the navigational GPS he used to get to me. God found me in my slumber and invited me to the arrival and hope of a new day."
Powerful sharing dear friend as always. I so love the LIGHT of our JESUS.