It Can Get Dark...

If there is one thing in life we can count on, an impending sense of doom fits the bill. There is never enough money, never enough time, never enough... whatever to satisfy our desires. Your job is expendable, you can be easily replaced, no one is truly special. The sun has set, and morning can seem so far away.

Fear can be a strong motivator.

As a child, I can remember a very real fear when it was time for bed. Climbing under the covers meant that it was time for the lights to be turned off and for me to be left alone to the machinations of my imagination. Those machinations never failed to impress, from creepy crawly things in my closet to hulking beasts beneath my bed. The only respite was found through light.

Children are funny that way. They have so much to learn, yet are really true reflections of us in so many ways. When individuals share their hearts with me, there is often a real trend of fear guiding decisions and a lack of hope to accompany it.

It can get really dark in our lives.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- John 8:12

 While we struggle through our own fears, wondering where God is in our plight, He invites us out of the cellars we have built. You may not even be aware of it, but many of us construct our own solitary confinement cells. We hunker down inside of them, shutting out the light and any who might want to help us all while wondering why no one will help us. We live in our own prisons.

Each time someone approaches Jesus, his invitation is simple -- unlock the door, give me the key and follow. It is the only decision we need to make, because He has everything else. A sense of doom is an opportunity to trust. We no longer have to worry about having enough, because God is our provider. Running dry is not a worry, because we have a living spring.

It has taken many years for me to begin to understand this, because it is a journey, but the only decision I have to make is whether I trust Jesus. If I do, then following him is my only pursuit and that changes my entire world.

He breaks down my walls, crumbling the concrete that I have poured around myself. The light begins to pour in as he gently tickles light into my darkness. He massages my atrophied limbs as I relearn how to walk.

It can get dark in the world, but we never belonged here anyway.