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| "George" emerging to light up a dark night. |
I know you've met "George" before [See "Ordinary Days -- Surprising Grace, 9/27/19], the exotic creature that inhabits my porch at the lake, but he's the perfect illustration of something I've just read in today's Streams in the Desert entry: "We must understand that for God to give "songs in the night" [Job 35:10], He must first make it night." (Nathaniel William Taylor). The devotional also reminded me that without the darkness we would never see the moon and stars, the most exquisite lights in the universe.
I think of people throughout history who've inspired me the most, and nearly all of them were overcomers. Job, who never gave in to despair or doubt in spite of losing everything he held dear; Paul and most of the twelve apostles who gave their very lives in order to share the Good News of the One Who gave the most for each and every one of us! Then there are my personal heroes: a woman I never even met who fought cancer valiantly, coming to church through pain and sickness, giving glory to God until her last breath; a pastor who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis and whose wife has a debilitating chronic illness as well, yet who visits the sick, preaches and teaches each week, and even calls in a devotional to his flock's prayer chain every day; a couple of teachers I follow on the internet who inspire thousands while one deals with a chronic illness herself and the other has two children with serious health issues. THESE are stars that shine in their own darkness, blessing us all with their amazing resilience.
I confess that in my own "dark night of the soul" I most often fail to shine, and yet I know that this blog would never have come about were it not for the darkness that suddenly engulfed me the summer of 2017. Even then, it took two years for my will to accept HIS will for my life and begin carrying out this assignment, which I believe was His plan from the very beginning. Oh dear friend, if you are in a dark place right now, I assure you that God has a purpose for you even in the darkness. Even if you shine on just one person, your family and closest friends, or perhaps someone you only know through the internet, you have no idea how far that light may be passed on, from one to another to another. You, too, can be a night-bloomer!
My night-blooming cereus sometimes takes a year off and rests, but then when it blooms again, even if I'm not watching and miss its display, I cherish the times I have witnessed the miracle. I can even recall its sweet fragrance, which is like nothing else on earth. Its brilliance still inspires me, just like I remember the stars and moon on a cloudy night, and I smile.
“He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom."
[Job 12:22 NLT]
"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous." [Psalm 112:4 NIV]
"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." [Isaiah 9:2 KJV]
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." [John 8:12 KJV]
"He must increase and I must decrease."
John 3:30
✝️
