Monday, January 30, 2012

"The Light of Himself"

"Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous" (Psalm 112:4).

The Psalmist personalizes the Divine illumination that meets us in darkness: "He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous." This perfectly accords with the New Testament declaration by our Lord Jesus Christ: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

In trouble and challenge, God does not always immediately supply outward help or solutions. He rather has us walk through the darkness with seemingly little more than the fact of His presence, and our response of faith. We know He is with us, and we believe accordingly. The hand of our Heavenly Father, however, seems still. As did David, perhaps we cry, "Arise, O Lord, O God, lift up Thine hand: forget not the humble" (Psalm 10:12). Still, He seems to do little or nothing to relieve our pains and problems.

In such times, we can be sure that there is more to the picture than meets the eye. God's doings transcend our understanding, and we shall likely discover one day that when He seemed most at rest, our Lord was actually most active on our behalf. Indeed, when no outward aid arrives, the Holy Spirit doubtless works within us as we trust God, emphasizing the far more vital matter of the heart. "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). When we cannot see His hand, the opportunity to know God's heart lies blessedly before us. Nothing could be more important, and no greater expression of love could our Heavenly Father bestow upon us than this opportunity to know not merely His way, but Himself.

In the Genesis account of creation, light existed in the world before the sun, the moon and the stars were made (Genesis 1:3; 14). Christ Himself likely supplied this illumination when no vehicles for light were yet formed. The same reality will often grace our hearts, although it likely will not feel like or seem to be grace. Yes, the light of God may most envelope us in sunless days and moonless, starless nights, the light of Himself revealed most purely, most surely, and most dynamically in the most important part of our being.

"The light shineth in darkness."
(John 1:5)

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