Singing in Shadowy Places

"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You." Psalm 143:8

 As I sit in the hushed and darkened room, I am alone with my thoughts. It is just before the dawn and our home is silent except for the chirping crickets and the beginning sounds as the birds arise, singing songs of joy and promise. What lies ahead for them, they do not know. Extreme weather conditions? Predatory dangers? Hunger? Perhaps, and yet they sing a song of hope for the dawn that they feel certain is coming! A new day that they innately know is filled with the presence of their faithful and loving Creator! Though they find their selves blanketed in the obscurity of the unknown; they sing!

 

But why? I believe that they sing for the dawn…for the promise of a new day! They don’t have a laid out plan of how their day will unfold and yet for the joy of living they sing. I also think it’s part of who they are as birds. Deep within them lies a melody placed there by their Creator and I believe it is for that audience of One that they sing! And what about us...what should our "natural” response be to the pervasive shadows that cloak our earthly existence? What song are we singing when we too find ourselves draped in the obscurity of the great unknown? Oh that we might learn from their expectant example!

 

Should the circumstances that lie ahead for this day and those that will come after it, ever be enough to keep my heart from singing songs of joy and promise? Though today I sit in the shadowy places and my heart is weighted with various concerns-is not the love and faithfulness of My heavenly Father enough to overcome these burdens? But in this present darkness, my song is yet unsung.

 

How about you today? Is your song of trust filling the rafters of your life while you sit in a shadowy place? Oh that our hearts would choose to release their melodies of hope and trust while currently residing in this temporary darkness! And yet often we refrain from singing in the black of night; preferring an assurance of what lies ahead before celebrating it. If only our hearts would trust enough to sing as the birds of the air, whose choruses inaugurate the promised daybreak, before they see the evidence of its existence.

 

But nevertheless upon the wings of the dawn comes a powerful and perpetual reminder of hope that is found in the face of our Papa, who rains down upon us His great and steadfast love, daily! And thankfully that love is also showered upon us even when the shadows lie heavy on our hearts and the darkness seems to reign over our circumstances! How good and faithful is the love of Father, who never holds back His melody of love though ours lie hushed!

 

Give pause for a moment to consider that somehow, some way the emergent dawn floods the earth and finds its way to touch our personal world with its light no matter where we live. And so MUCH GREATER is the all-encompassing and unrelenting love of our Father that is lavished upon us no matter the level or intensity of the shadows that surround our lives! May this fact alone be enough to cause our hearts to swell and burst forth in songs of trust and gratitude no matter how long we have been under siege by the dark of night!

 

Oh Lord, whether the path we find ourselves on has been kissed by the dawn’s emerging light so that we can see what lies ahead for many steps or if our way is still sheathed in the shadows and we strain to see even our very next step; would You come to the place where our hearts reside and show Yourself strong? Oh that we might sense Your abiding presence no matter the level of shade that binds itself upon our wondering hearts! May we join with David, the man after Your own heart in requesting; “Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You.”

 

May the brilliant light of Your unfailing love dispel any fear or concern of what lies on the other side of the shadowy places…may we be sufficiently secure in the darkness so that with untouchable joy we unlock our melody of trust-though the night seemingly reigns supreme. May our waiting hearts burst forth with songs that confirm…that testify of…that showcase Your unfailing love! May our trust in the darkness be shown as perfect wisdom as the emerging dawn brings us confirmed reports of Your never failing love! And though for the present moment we abide in the land of deepened shadows, may our hearts overflow with held back songs of thankfulness for a Love that we could never deserve and one that we will gladly spend eternity exploring!

Shine Bright!

 “For Thou wilt light my candle, the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness” Psalm 18:28

A lesson on “little” that I learned in the dark.

It was day eight of no power after the hurricane showed up. I was doing my devotions and came across Psalm 18:28. It was underlined AND highlighted so naturally it caught my eye. Now I’ve read my Bible through many times, but for some reason it didn’t seem familiar. However anything to do with light had my full attention right then : )

The original Hebrew of ‘light’ in this verse means “set on fire, shine and kindle” and ‘enlighten’ denotes “glitter”! Glitter’s definition is “to sparkle brilliantly, to shine by reflection with many small flashes of light”. I love things that glisten, don’t you? But have you ever stopped to think about what glitter actually is? It’s just a pile of little pieces of shiny material that reflect any light that’s shined upon it. And although it is tiny, glitter “comes alive” when it’s touched by a light source! What a wonderful reminder that we as Papa God’s dear children are called into life when the light of His Son illuminates our hearts and then we get to share that light with those around us. We glitter for Jesus! : )

Now we see in this verse that God alone does the kindling because He is the ORIGINAL source of light. Then as believers we are called to reflect His light to this sin darkened world. Considering this, it’s good to know that when light hits a shard of glitter, it shines the brightest in a dark room. Of course its brilliance does not stem from its own power or making; it can only reflect the light that it intersects with, like a mirror reflects the radiance that is pointed at it. And as the “offspring” of our Father we are each commissioned like little mirrors to reflect the glory of our Lord to every soul in our sphere of influence! (II Corinthians 3:18)

Yes, it’s all about reflection because glitter is pointless without another source of light...its only job is to catch the radiance and shine it back! And the nature of a mirror means that whatever angle (or point of origin) that the light radiates from is the very direction that the reflection will “point back at! i.e. With every sparkle it brings attention to the original source of light and we too are privileged to reflect a spotlight that springs from and showcases to, the glory of our King! Praise God!

Think about it…our hearts come alive when His glorious light shines upon them and then in turn as we walk out our days on this earth, they can act as bright blinking arrows pointing right back at Him for the world to see. In fact, in Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus declares that His disciples are the light of the world, so that means us too! And He generously includes you and me in the revealing who of He is to the world! Praise His name! Today we may feel small and insignificant just like little pieces of glitter, but never forget that a little light can be crucial when our world is stumbling along on paths devoid of the one true Light! Because remember that little things have the power to transform nations, when placed in our Father’s mighty hands and that’s precisely what He longs for us to do! We don’t have to be big or powerful…we just have to be willing to share the Light.

I was reminded of this not long ago...It was gearing up to be a looooong day with many appointments and errands to get done and I had selected a skirt that was covered in red glitter. (I know, I know. But it seemed like a good choice during the predawn hours. lol) I bet that you can figure out what happened next : ) Yep, everywhere I went and everyone I touched got glitterized! lol When I realized what was happening I tried really hard to be more careful…but it seemed the harder I tried the more I sprinkled lol And right then Papa whispered; “Sandy, just like this glittered garment, I want every path you take and every person you come in contact with to experience a little bit of who I am from your life. Be willing to sprinkle My truth and love every time you are jostled.”  

Oh that we would see ourselves like a glittered object that generously sprinkles its sparkle every time it comes in contact with anything and that the love and life of Christ would fall from our lips and our lives on every path we frequent…often without us even being aware of it! May we leave behind a small bit of who God is, that can reflect the light of our heavenly Father.

 Oh how our world would be changed, if every time we were jostled or rubbed the wrong way, instead of bristling at the friction, we just glittered for Him-leaving behind a tiny reflector that could point to the original Light, who lovingly longs to shine in the hearts of those around us! Today, may we hear His call to share His glorious light and having heard, may we choose to glitter brilliantly for Him!

May the radiance of who He is empower you to Shine Bright today!