The Light Continues To Shine Always

I seem to have a light motif the last few posts, today is no exception. (That is light motif, not leitmotif, which is an entirely different subject which I also have no qualifications to speak about).

Today I am pondering passages in the previous two days in Oswald Chamber's My Utmost For His Highest:

If human beings were not capable of depression, we would have no capacity for happiness and exaltation. There are things in life that are designed to depress us; for example, things that are associated with death. Whenever you examine yourself, always take into account your capacity for depression...If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone.
My Utmost For His Highest-2/17 Devotional

The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, "Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore." If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, "Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing." In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, "Get up, and do the next thing." If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing?
My Utmost For His Highest-2/18 Devotional

We must come out of our darkness into His light to fight off the depression and despair that our sin can rain down on our heads and hearts. I am not depressed or despairing, I am actually quite excited about some of the new things happening in my life. But I am confused and perplexed about others, which I do not want turning into dread, depression or despair. I seek His light at all times for understanding. Failing that for comfort through faith and trust.

As I can see in the reminders He has chosen to put before me these past few days, I need to always swim in His light, or I could easily sink into my darkness. If you are wrestling with issues of depression or despair, consider taking the time to read these two devotionals by clicking through to the links above. They may provide some comfort and guidance.

Swim or sink, it is a simple choice to make, why do we make it so hard?

A Little More Light

I blogged yesterday on a passage out of Rainsford.Then I read this excerpt from Calvin:

In the same vein is that saying of Solomon, "The poor man and the usurer meet together; God illumines the eyes of both" [Prov. 29:13; cf. ch. 22:2]. He points out that, even though the rich are mingled with the poor in the world, while to each his condition is divinely assigned, God, who lights all men, is not at all blind.
Institutes of the Christian Religion 1:16.6

God is not blinded by the light which He illuminates us in our sin and shortcomings. We may be blind in our darkness, by the light that God shines upon us lays that out in the open for us to see.

No matter how dark we believe, the Lord sees with total clarity. Nothing is hidden from him:

¹¹If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,"
¹²Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
Psalm 139:11-12 (NASB)

That we let Him lead us, that we see through His sight. There is light all around us, even in our darkest thoughts or despair. I seem to keep stumbling into it and over it. I need to keep embracing it as it encourages and emboldens me.

Come Into the Light

I love this passage from Marcus Rainsford in Our Lord Prays For His Own:

Light! discovering to us what we are, that we may fly from self.
Light! discovering to us what sin is, that we may loathe it.
Light! discovering to us what Satan is, that we may not be ensnared by his devices.
Light! discovering to us what the world is, that we may not be entrapped by its delusions.
Light! unveiling hell, that we may fly from it to our refuge,
Light! discovering an opened heaven, and Him who beckons us in.

Look at what the light must burn away to reveal the glory of heaven to us: self, sin, Satan, world, hell. There is a whole lot of darkness that stands with us before we come into the light. Maker no mistake about it, we stand with all that darkness until our Lord's brilliance blots it out. I like the way Rainsford started with self, that is where the darkness begins, fueled by our sin, abetted by Satan. It encompasses our world, it makes it our hell, but there is an opened heaven for those who will walk through the door that the Lord holds open for us.

That's the road I look to walk on everyday, heading for the light of an opened heaven.

How Low Can You Go?

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"
Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:7-12 (NASB)

God sees all, the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient for all. There is no where that the Light of God cannot pierce. Even in the darkest part of a heart stained with sin, He is there if you will only turn to Him. The darkest night can be the brightest day by His presence in your life.

I am reminded of the story of Jonah by these verses:

Jonah went down to Joppa. (1:3)
Jonah went down to the ship. (1:3)
Jonah went down into the ship.(1:5)
Jonah went down into the sea. (1:15)
Jonah went down into the fish. (1:17)
Jonah went down to the roots of the mountains. (2:6)

The Lord still found Jonah, no matter how far down he went to get away from God. And what happened?

Jonah was brought up from the pit by the Lord. (2:6)
Jonah was brought back onto dry land. (2:10)

Jonah saw the darkness in his heart, a darkness he still struggled with after the Lord had redeemed him from the sea. But the Lord could pierce Jonah even at the very roots of the mountains of the sea. Jonah could not get any lower, but he could not get underneath God. God took drastic measures with Jonah, because of Jonah, not because of God.

Then the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land. Jonah 2:10 (NASB)

So before you try to out limbo the Lord, check your heart, search its darkness and realize that God has not turned from you, you have turned from Him.

And do something about it before He has to turn you into fish puke.