Sunday, November 03, 2013

Eclipsed by Life? Look to the Lord for Your Light!

 
Today in parts of the world there will be a full view of a total solar eclipse. In America we might be able to see part of it. An eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun. An eclipse is a natural occurrence but it can be frightening to people who don’t know about its astronomical explanation, as the Sun seems to disappear during the day and the sky darkens in a matter of minutes. They often consider it a bad omen or the sign of a catastrophe.
There are times in our lives when life goes suddenly dark. We weren’t expecting it and we had no plans to observe it, but darkness hits us square where we live anyway. We might consider our problems as bad omens indeed. We were living for Jesus weren’t we? Why did He let this happen? Why am I in the dark? We wonder what we did, where we went wrong or why God left us. Will we have to live in this situation forever, caught between condemnation and explanation? When will the sun ever shine again?
We want things to change, we want to fix it all and keep going. God wants us to wait on Him.  We want to work it out quickly while He wants us to rest in Him for as long as He needs us to.
God speaks to our hearts:  My precious child. In the times when you feel you are in the dark, walking alone, fearful of your circumstances, you can know that I am with you. I have not left you to observe the situation alone. Although the problem appears to darken the view of Me, I assure you that I am with you always. There is much you can learn while you feel you are in the dark.  I will strengthen your faith and teach you to walk only by My Spirit, not by your flesh. I can be trusted even when everything else seems lost, in order to replace your fears, your worries, your disappointments, your mourning, your dark times with total and unshakable faith in Me. You can continue to watch the eclipse or you can turn your face to Me. When you keep watching the shadows in your life, you will be blinded to My presence. But if you will trust Me, and look to Me, I will take this momentary hard situation and give you fresh faith, greater wisdom, and firmer resolve to walk with Me.
Oh beloved, run to God’s Word for your needs – every single one of them. His Word is alive and it will illuminate your dark times and it will illuminate who God is.  The Lord wants us to know Him so intimately and so completely that we won't be moved away from Him when difficulties arise in our lives. When the light seems obscured and the hard places are bearing down on us, we may feel that we will be crushed and blinded forever, but God is with us! Not only is He with us, He wants to be all we need!  We can rejoice that when the sun does shine again, we will know that we have been with Him and that we are even surer of His presence no matter what comes our way.
If you are in a dark place and your joy seems obscured remember that God loves you and He’s for you. You are never walking through the problem alone! You will see the light of day again and come through the entire time as knowing Him better and thus trusting Him more. And that’s all that really matters.
Psalm 89:15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Psalm 91:1-2 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
Job 42:5 I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You. (AMP)
Hosea 6:3 Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.

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