Coming out of Darkness

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Afraid of the dark? Me too, or at least I used to be. There was a time when I wandered aimlessly in the disorientation that an all consuming blackness could bring on. I remember feeling totally lost with no sense of direction. Constantly groping for a lamp, a candle, even a match, anything that would bring the slightest bit of brightness into my world.

Now, I'm not saying that everything in my life was horrible, on the surface it may have seemed normal, but I felt no sense of hope for future improvement. I did not see how my situation could ever get better and in fact my circumstances were spiraling out of control. My personal life, my home life, my health all reaching destructive extremes. I had my husband, but our relationship was rapidly deteriorating. My job was taking over my life as I worked harder to try to reach the goal of a better schedule and better pay justifying it to myself the whole time saying it was for the good of my family. I had gained an inordinate amount of weight and was unhealthy many times over. The only really hopeful thing in my life was my daughter. A young child, she had her whole life ahead of her, if I didn't do something to mess her up.

What changed? Jesus! Not that he "changed" but I did. I finally saw the light, His light. By reconnecting with Jesus I opened my heart and life to the light of the glory of God. All the scary places that once were hidden and filled with frightening possibilities were suddenly in the open and illuminated with the truth, my reality of God's hope in my life. He cared and He had a plan for my future. Once the hidden things, the scary things were revealed in the light they no longer had the same power over me. Just like Halloween decorations and costumes are frightening in the dark but lose there scare quality in the light, the things that were difficult in my life were not as overpowering once they were in the open. With God's help, I was able to work on them and take steps to resolve them.

I still have moments where the darkness tries to rear its ugliness in my life. During times of great stress, emotional pain and struggle if I let my focus settle on the problem and not my provider the light begins to dim and I feel the coldness of the dark as starts to creep in. I had to grasp this "knowledge of the glory of God" and learn to trust Him. Today I know all I have to do is call on Jesus for help. Although my situation may be difficult, and many times it is hard to surrender and reach out, I know I will feel His touch guide me back to the warmth of His light. He is faithful. He is the light in the darkness of this world. He is in control.

God, thank you for being the light in my darkness. Thank you for not leaving me there to grope around in the darkness on my own. I praise you for being my hope and leading me to the reality you had planned for my life. Help me continue to walk in your light by seeking you in your Word and in prayer.

Boldly Going Where Faith Filled Believers Have Gone Before Us

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified)

This verse says a lot to me, to us, as Christians who have been accepted, sanctified and strive live by the Word of God. It says that God did not go through all the trouble, make the greatest sacrifice in the history of mankind for us to live timidly. He gave His son, making a pathway to himself so that we would come boldly, confidently and fearlessly to Him.

I have included three different translations of this particular verse so that there would be no misunderstanding. Scholars agree on not only the wording, but the thought and feeling behind it. Each of these submissions represent different schools of thought and approaches to translating the Holy Scriptures from the original Greek of the New Testament. There is a broad range of ideals as to how this interpretation is accomplished and essentially there are those that go for the 'word for word' approach meaning they try to use the closest exact word when interpreting the text. The other end of the spectrum is 'thought for thought'. In these translations they try to convey the thought and feel of the text by using the best language and word choice that would represent it in today's society. Then there are those that are in the middle. They attempt to achieve a good blend of the two approaches by finding the closest exact wording to communicate the meaning as accurately as possible.

The New Living Translation is a 'thought for thought', the Amplified is a 'word for word' and the New International version is the middle of the road. However, in all of these, and this is why I wanted to include a selection of translations, it is clearly illustrated that we are not to approach God with fear or timidity. He expects us to come to Him boldly and with confidence. He gave us an awesome gift in his Son. He made the ultimate sacrifice in love, hoping that we would accept it and come to Him. He offers us His endless mercy and grace, my friends. He wants us to be willing to accept His help. He desires us to draw near to Him so He can draw nearer to us. It does not say we might receive mercy and grace, but that we will not only find it, we will receive it. Let's go boldly where faith filled believers have gone before us and take hold of this promise secured by God's character: His love, His mercy and His grace are abundant and available to each of us through prayer.

Thank you God for loving me and making a way for me to come to you with my concerns. You paved the pathway to you in the blood of your Son. I will not dishonor Him by being timid and afraid. I will come to you in confidence and allow you to work in my life. I praise you today God and I trust your will for my life.

May each of you dig deep today mustering up and grasping tightly the boldness and confidence Christ died for you to have!

His Everlasting Arms

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27

I have spent a significant amount of time pondering this verse. I know that in context of the chapter it may not mean all the things I can imagine it to, but it's still a comforting thought to try to imagine God's everlasting arms. This is part of Moses' blessing on the Tribes of Israel. Moses was imparting his wisdom on his Israelite brothers and reminding them just who had delivered them, His power, His might, His protection and that the God of Israel is in control of all things. Our God is in control of all things.

Our God is eternal, no beginning and no end. He is forever the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Because he is eternal His promises are for all generations of believers. We all have access to Him because of His great sacrifice so that we could be reconciled to him. We can be with Him in his eternal glory, heaven.

He is our refuge. He is the safe place where we can find peace in times of turmoil. We can find rest when we are bone weary or emotionally exhausted from the onslaught of life in this fallen world. In Him we have hope of a better tomorrow, for a future of His making if we just focus on being faithful and obedient and let Him take control of our lives. Our part is to trust and obey, he will do the rest.

And underneath His Godly, powerful Almighty exterior are the everlasting arms that lift us up when we fall. The arms that steady us when we are unstable in our walk. Arms that have the gentle hands of a loving Heavenly Father that pat us on the back, stroke our heads to soothe us, and provide healing when needed. These strong arms are what wraps around us when we are hurting or give us unending hugs of spiritual encouragement and encircles us in his protective embrace. The everlasting arms of our Savior, our God.

Be encouraged in His presence, His power and His purpose in your life today!

God thank you today for being my refuge and my strength. The power and love of your all encompassing embrace brings me peace, comfort and hope for a blessed day in you. I trust you and the faithfulness of your eternal character. In you alone is my faith. I will focus on you today instead of my problems. Through the lens of your love and wisdom my difficulties will seem less menacing because you are in control.