You Don't Have to Stumble Around

I love the dawn.  As I sit my kitchen table reading the Word, reflecting on the day ahead, I can see the eastern sky. When the first rays of sunshine tiptoe out of the trees and across my yard, there is a noticeable shift in my emotions that respond to the sun’s notice of a new day.  Light- what a gift! 

Sometimes  not wanting to turn on the light in the middle of the night, I walk cautiously through my dark bedroom.  The other night my foot hit a basket that was not in its usual place. As I stumbled and caught my balance, I chuckled to myself. “Just turn on the light, foolish man, before you hurt yourself!”

When I let Sam,  my Irish Setter, out before bedtime, I always flip on the floodlights that spill their illumination across the front yard.  Why? I want to know if there are any critters in the yard – deer she may chase, a bear that could injure her, or a skunk who could make us all miserable.

Are you ‘living in the light?’  

David rejoices saying "The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1, NIV)  When we are living under God’s radiance fears are dispelled.  Jesus tells us that He is  “the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”  (John 8:12)  When we let Him shine, we are able to find purpose and the way to full life.

Are you inviting the bright presence of the Spirit to shine on you? 

In the same way that sun is always shining, God’s light is always shines!  However, we have to stay where that light can shine on us. When we are worshipful, when we read the Scripture with understanding, when we exercise faith with obedience; we are ‘in the light.’  When we reject the Truth, when we persistent in arguments with the Lord, when we refuse to love – dark creeps over us and with it comes uncertainty, fear, and doubts.

It is true that there are days when, for reasons beyond our comprehension, the light seems hidden.  Fatigue, like a cloud, darkens our day. Temptation, like a shade, tries to block the light. In some cases sorrow comes and with it an emotional darkness falls.  God’s light is never extinguished.  Ever gone to the airport to take a flight on a cloudy, rainy day?  As the jet ascends pushing aside the clouds there is a glorious moment when the cabin is flooded with sunlight. The sun was shining as it always does!  So on weary days, when we are weighed down by temptation, when sadness dogs us – we must pray for faith to rise above those clouds.

Here is a word from the Word.  Today, invite the Light to shine on you.
" Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth! 
Sing, all you who sail the seas, all you who live in distant coastlands. …
"I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. 
I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. 
Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them." (Isaiah 42:10,16, NLT)

"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." (Proverbs 4:18-19, NIV)

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Step Into The Sunshine

Step into the sunshineGet out of the shadeThis is the one timeThat you've got it madeAnd you can feel yourself smilin'Way down to your shoesStep into the sunshineFind the great good news

 Lord have mercyOn the long-lost childWho wants to come homeBut the world's gone wildLookin' all aroundFor a way to beginOpen the windowsLet The Light pour inI said open the windowsLet The Light pour in children

Clark Gassman | Molly Ann Leikin
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