Perfect Light

There is this light, this delicious golden shimmer, that I have noticed. I have found it in the still sleepy country mornings and in the glorious autumn evenings when the sun is at just the right angle. This light is my favorite for taking pictures.

I stumbled across this light again yesterday and googled to see if anyone else had recognized its splendor. Surely it had a name. I found out that it is called "the golden hour"-a brief period soon after sunrise and shortly before sunset. It is a period of transition, a passing through time, when the soft light gives a warm glow to landscapes and portraits.

This golden hour reminds me of the nearness of God. (And I always enjoy finding things that do.) In fact I wonder if all of heaven isn't awash in golden light. Certainly it was not created with me in mind, but it just reminds me of the Light of the World and how He changes how we see everything.

Tonight an individual asked to speak to me. My initial reaction was a bit of dread. I had spoken to them before and wasn't sure what new ideas I had. Really, I wasn't sure why they asked me anyway. Perhaps simply because I am a believer and I know enough Scripture for a persuasive argument. Still, this individual had more education and experience than I did with both believing and Scripture. At some point, I knew I would fail them.

This person complained of being in a spiritually dry season. "There is no joy bubbling from my spirit. My salvation feels up in the air" they stated. This was evident to the person's by their perceived lack of emotional response to God. Anxiety continued to grip and tear at this individual's spirit.

I half smiled as I prayed for this person silently, asking God to give me words of comfort & encouragement. While I have not questioned my salvation, I have been searching the Scriptures for hope and for evidence that God is still for me, even when I cannot sense Him especially when things feels so wrong. This exercise has taken me through Psalm, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Job, Habakkuk...and this exercise prepared me to share with this person.

Just like the Golden Hour, God's light shown. For a few moments, the conversation I was dreading because I doubted myself, was full of Perfect Light. I described a little about my journey and how it has changed me. The person smiled as I reminded them of Scriptures where salvation and knowledge of God did not show up in victorious or elated emotions but in the stubborn worship of a holy God during depression and hardship because the character of God does not change based on our feelings. I don't know if my words will change this person. In fact, I hope that just like the Perfect Light of the golden hour attracted me, that they are encouraged to begin their own persistent journey to find this Light.

And in the midst of my own struggles, I smiled broadly when I realized my Lord allowed me to glimpse Him, as I did those brief moments of perfect light yesterday.

(Yes, I am aware of my pronoun/noun issues but this person deserves full anonymity.)

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