Darkness

The dark clouds are in the sky once again. Their dominating presence holding back the bright warmth and dawning of a new day. Their pockets carrying cold rain, bitter blistery wind, and booming thunder. It is cold. It is wet. It is frightful.

Tear drops of rain begin to fall against the grey back drop, rushing downward and spilling across a dry, parched ground. Rain drops whose rhythmic drumming awake the sleepy, send the tired into deep slumber, and cause the timid to hide in fright. The darkness seeps into the house, creeping into the open windows, crawling under the door, boldly entering in from the skylight above. It invades a home. O that the night will come quickly so the darkness will be chased away by the radiance of the light; artificial light that fades in the morning. Artificial light whose power is limited by its source. Artificial light whose brightness dims with each passing moment.

But you, O Lord, keep my lamp burning. You, my God, turn my darkness into light (Psa 18:28). You descend from the heavens. You hold back the clouds. You restrain the falling rain. You hold back the night. Your radiant love is mighty and powerful. It burns as bright as day. It is as a mighty flame. No one can extinguish it and it can not be hidden. It is for all the world to see. O Lord, Your love has no limit and knows no bounds.

It reaches to the bottom of the deepest well. It penetrates the darkest forest. It climbs the highest mountain and swoops among the lowest valleys. It quietly seeps through the tiniest of crevices, and under the door of the darkest heart. It gives sight to the blind and warmth to the weary traveler. My God is mighty to save. My God turns my darkness into light. My God lives and reigns forever. He will never leave me nor forsake me.

He will turn my darkness into light. He will cause me to see and know the things of heaven. He will restore my spirit. He will refresh my soul. He will pick me up when I have fallen. He will gently lift me from the deepest pit. He will bandage my wounds and love my broken heart. He will quench my thirst and He will feed my hunger. My God is…the Lord, and there is no other. “He” forms the light and creates darkness, “He” brings prosperity and creates disaster. “He” is the Lord, who does all these things. (Isaiah 45:6-7)

Yes Lord

Matthew 10:16, 31
I am sending you like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Our Heavenly Father, with a love so deep, has asked for us to do His will, His bidding. He has asked us to go and represent His Kingdom and call all believers and non believers to Him. He has asked that we school and disciple others in prayer and “follow-ship.” He even warns us that others will not receive us as friends. We tread on hostile ground and are aliens in this land. We are to be on guard against the attacks of the enemy.

Regardless of where we are to go or what we are to do, God, our Heavenly Father who loved us first, has asked us (me) to carry forth a message to others. I am, we are, His Ambassador. The depth of our love for Him should cause us to answer, “Yes, Lord, as you wish.”

Knowing in the recess of our heart that our love is so great that we are eternally grateful for Christ’s dieing love. The love that is within us should be so pure and selfless that we would climb any mountain, scale any wall, or travel through any desert to deliver and personally share God’s love to, for, and with others.

Our actions are not done out of the “heartless duty” of “because He said so.” Our actions and response to the Master’s request should be done by the overflow of the love that Christ has poured into our hearts. The One who made us, loves us. The One who made us, cares for us. The One who made us, cries with us. The One who made us, rejoices with us. The One who made us, watches over us.

We love Him because He first loved us. His love follows our wayward footsteps. His love shelters us during the storms of our life. His love carries our cross of guilt and shame. His love “did not consider equality with God something to be held onto, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, and made in the likeness of man” (Phil 2:5) He came to earth, bled, died, and rose again for us, so that our filthy rags of sin and shame could be made white as snow. That we may receive the blessings of being called heirs with Christ Jesus, so that we will willingly, selflessly, and obediently do as His Perfect Will asks of us.

He desires to fill us at His banqueting table. He desires that we love others through the outpouring of the expression of God’s great love for us. To set the captives free, to bind up, support, and love the broken hearted, and to bring others this same blessed union of faith and co-heirs with us in Christ Jesus.

Is the works of our flesh born out of duty, or are we marching forward in this fight of faith out of the love we have for our Risen Savior? Are we yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to teach us all things? Are we letting Him open wide our hearts and pour out God’s great love into us? Are we running from Him or are we sitting patiently in the shadow of the Almighty as He schools us in prayer? Are we allowing Christ to work His good work within us? Are we fleeing from the fiery furnace where God alone is crafting us to be a special messenger of faith, love, and courage? Are we enduring this fight of faith in patience, perseverance, and hope?

What are we living for? Are we living for ourselves and the glory of the prizes for which this earth has to offer? Or are we living for Our Heavenly Father, whose Glory will never rust nor moths can destroy? Are we living for and striving for the blessed union with Our King? Are we gladly, willingly, and out of the overflow of His love for us, loving, serving, following, and yielding to the Master’s call?

Father in heaven, may Your love be forever burned into my heart as one who claims the ownership, authority, and rights of all my being. May my heart ache in unison with Yours. May my feet tread the paths that you would have me to go. May your love carry me through the desert, the storms, the mountains, and the valleys with tireless abandonment of love, because it is You who loves me so. May my voice never cease or waver to claim Your endless love. May my resolve be as bold as a lion as I march forward into the hands of the enemy. May my soul be forever comforted, strengthened in knowledge, faith, and in the hope of the glory of Christ Jesus. May all I do, be in remembrance of You. Your servant, Your child, longs for nothing more than to please You, my Lord. Your name forever to be praised.