Out of Great Darkness

Let the Light In

I felt my way around the foot of the bed and then across the room to open the plantation shutters so that light could enter the unfamiliar dark bedroom where I'd slept. As I noticed how easily and quickly the light flowed in, I thought about how even a little bit of light made a huge difference in my ability to see where I was and to move around safely. The light was available. All I had to do was let it in!

I also thought about how much better life is for you, Dear Reader, and me, when we open our minds and hearts to the light of truth. Regrettably, all too often we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the truth and/or let it permeate our lives. We foolishly try to make sense of our life, of our world, while stumbling around in the darkness, without the benefit (and the blessing) of the light that is given to everyone who believes in Jesus. How different our lives would be if only we'd turn to Him and experience the truth of what He said centuries ago: "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness" (John 12:46, NASB). His light is always available. All we have to do is let it in!

Luminaries Needed

One Internet website invites certain people, usually those whose names are widely recognized, to share (in 500 words or less) some wisdom they'd like to pass on to others. As I reflected on that challenge issued to those referred to as "luminaries," I recalled having attended a local Relay for Life event. As dusk descended that Friday evening, volunteers placed lunch-size paper bags all around the perimeter of the walking track where the event was being held. On each bag was written the name of (1) a person who had battled or was still battling cancer and (2) the person who had purchased the luminary in honor of or in memory of the cancer patient. 

The darker the night became, the brighter the candlelight shone through the bag. As I strolled around the track, I read the names on each bag. I recognized some of them. Several I knew well, including my mother, my mother-in-law, and one of the charter members of the camera club to which I belonged. I thought about how they had inspired me in so many ways. I thought about their courage, their faith, their endurance... Truly, they were (and still are) luminaries in my life!

I recalled that the Bible says there's a noticeable difference in people who are filled with a God-given inner light and in those who are not:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

that you may be blameless and innocent,

children of God

without blemish 

in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,

among whom you shine as lights in the world, 

holding fast to the word of life... 

Philippians 2:14-16a

I also remembered a song I've known since childhood: This Little Light of Mine by Harry D. Loes. As I sang the words, I recommitted to letting my little light shine. Will you, Dear Reader, do the same? Even a little light is obvious in the darkness.

Light in the Darkness

After a dear friend highly recommended Sara Young’s devotional book, Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, I downloaded it for my Kindle. What a treasure it is!!! As soon as I finish my daily Bible reading, I read the day’s devotional. Reading each one is as exciting (and easy!) as finding precious gems scattered on the ground, just waiting for me to notice them and be uplifted by them.

The author writes what she senses Jesus saying to her, hence the title Jesus Calling. As I read the words in the Feb. 11^th devotional, I gave thanks for the confirmation of something quite similar He had said to me the night I’d looked out the window of our room on the ninth-floor of a hotel in Savannah and immediately noticed the brightly lit steeple of a nearby church. Nearly all the other buildings were concealed in darkness, which made the lighted steeple stand out all the more. 

The picture I’d felt compelled to take, though it was 1:00 in the morning, isn't any good--from a technical perspective--since I took it in low light and through the thick glass of the window while I hand held the camera. Plus, I couldn’t change my vantage point much at all. All those factors, when combined, produced a very poor picture. Even so, it’s a favorite of mine because I love how that lighted structure contrasts so sharply (and beautifully) with the surrounding darkness.

Thus, I immediately thought of that photo as I read these words in Jesus Calling: “My Peace is like a shaft of golden light shining on you continuously….See times of darkness as opportunities for My light to shine in transcendent splendor.”

Note: The following morning, I photographed the same steeple. I could see more details. I produced a more technically correct photo. But gone was the striking contrast the light had made while surrounded by darkness. So, I was thankful I had taken the time to make the photograph in the middle of the night. I will use it to remind me that God uses even our dark times as opportunities to showcase His splendor, causing others to notice the incredible difference He makes in the lives of those He indwells.

Come to the Light

Upon awakening in a hotel room that was as dark as a moonless night, I delighted to see the outside light shining underneath the pinch-pleated, room-darkening drapes. I smiled as I also noticed the bit of electric light slipping through the space around the edges of the bathroom door. I eased out of bed, reached for my cell phone that was on the nightstand, and took a picture.

Upon hearing the snap of the shutter, my sleepy husband mumbled, “What are you taking pictures of?”

“The light! I love it!”

He groaned and rolled over in the bed. Knowing he wasn’t loving the light as much as I was, I snapped only three or four pictures before entering the bathroom to shower and dress for the trip home. In that room there was abundant light!

I wasn’t sure what the “message” about the light would be, but I knew it would come to me. Sure enough, it came the following morning as I busied myself in the kitchen. It was in the words of an old song, “The Light of the World is Jesus,” written by Philip P. Bliss in 1895. All I could remember of it was the refrain:

Come to the light, ‘tis shining for thee;

Sweetly the light has dawned upon me.

Once I was blind, but now I can see:

The Light of the world is Jesus!

I realized anew that by continually coming to Jesus, I can have as much light for life’s journey as I want. Although there’s much darkness (evil, sadness, suffering, etc.) in this world, there’s light available for the journey, if only I will open the door to my heart and pull back the “drapes” of my mind to receive His light. How much light I have to walk by depends on how wide I open myself to Him, how eager I am to walk in the light instead of stumble around in the darkness. Dear Reader, let’s come to the Light. It’s shining for us!!!

©2015 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill