And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid."
Did you happen to notice when the angel appeared to the shepherds abiding in the field? It was 'at night'. It was when darkness dulled all other distractions.
Yesterday my friend Elaine, wrote a beautiful post, "The Dark Side of Genesis", that deeply touched my heart. She wrote about darkness being created to cause the needful longing of the light's approach...the Light's approach.
I don't know about you, but darkness sharpens my senses. Distractions and busyness of day surrender to the quiet, calm of night. I listen more intently. God's Word tells me He brings treasures in darkness, (Isaiah 45:3), and I love in the Psalms where it says that darkness is as light to the Lord. There is no darkness with Him (Psalm 139).
Darkness has a purpose, whether just the going down of the sun for needed physical rest, or dark nights of our soul where we learn to trust in Him. The prince of darkness will one day be forever subdued and we are promised that, in heaven, there will be no night there.
If dark clouds have caused 24 hours of 'night', don't lose hope. Beth Moore writes that, "Sometimes in the contrast of the night, we can best see the glory of God."
6 comments:
What a great message of hope today. I have been in dark places before and will be again. It helps to remember that God can see in the dark - unlike us.
Well said. I thought about my longing for the light, even as my head hit the pillow last night. Funny, I rather enjoyed dark's approach and its permission for me to rest.
peace~elaine
What sweet thoughts for my soul today! =)
What a beautiful post.I love it. Treasures darkness. Hmmm.
Thank you for the reminder that darkness has a purpose. And that I need to trust him with this 24 hours of darkness I find for my soul right now...
the darkness I am walking through to find the life and light and freedom once i am back in the light.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.
If you get the chance, in the midst of your caring for your parents, I have a new post up that describes what I am going through right now... a tough darkness indeed. Yet I know that God has been faithful in teh past, and will be again...
God bless,
Heather
http://hkudla.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/that-night-a-dark-room-once-locked/
Joy,
Great thoughts.
I was so blessed by your comment on my blog. I sense such a geniuneness about you, and I am drawn to that! Thank you for coming by and blessing my heart with your affirming words. Thank you for sharing your own experience with "open palms."
Be blessed!
Lisa :)
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