A Heavenly Joy
When I was in Ecuador there was limited electricity where we were. It gets so dark there that you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. There aren’t houses that cast lights from windows, or street lamps on the corners of the road. There is just blackness. So I carried a head lamp to go walk about after dark.
That light was a light that outshined the darkness. It laid a path for me to tread. I loved that headlamp. But it only shined about fifteen feet. So I had no clue what lied beyond me at sixteen feet. I learned quite quickly, even with a light, the darkness is a scary place.
When we find ourselves in dark nights – nights of the soul and nights in life – the light of God helps, but our minds still hold the capacity to convince us that we still are not safe.
Think about it, when a person loses a loved one to cancer, a car wreck, gang related violence – holding on to the light is good but it doesn't speak to the situation at hand. Darkness is still all around.
Or what about when you can’t pay rent? You work two jobs but you can’t pay off debt. Sure we need a light that outshines the darkness but we still are in the dark.
How about depression? How about having a miscarriage? Or having a stillborn baby? How about getting laid off from your job or not being able to make ends meet? How about knowing your kids can’t come home for Christmas or that loved ones are getting a divorce?
Everyday innocent people die from preventable diseases like malaria. Everyday little boys and little girls get sold into slavery thinking they are going to come to America and earn an honest living? Global poverty, cancer, preventable diseases, human trafficking, environmental degradation, health related illnesses, family issues, and personal depression make you realize the darkness is real and it is thick.
My point is there are moments in life when we need something to speak directly to our situation. We need a Savior that shines a light further than fifteen feet. We need a Lord. We need something we can be rescued by . . . we need joy.
I’m reminded of a night when a young lady felt the sting of that darkness we’re talking about. She needed help. She was in pain. Her husband was doing all he could to help but he needed more than what he had to give. Struggling to go from place to place, slow and not so steady the young couple trudged on until they found their help. An old farmer saw the need in their eyes and offered them what he had to give. “I don’t have any room in the inn,” he says, “but you can use my barn. It’s quiet there.”
Mary and Joseph, the night Jesus was born, needed rescuing. They needed God. And when they needed God the most, they found what they were looking for.
All of us experience dark nights of the soul. But we experience joyful ones too. God’s light may not outshine all the darkness immediately, but it does get us to morning. Nights that suffocate us with the reality that life is hard must be met with the faith that we worship a God who hates this darkness. We must believe that God is constantly shining more light into our life. This light for me . . . is why in Advent we reflect on the meaning of joy.
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