On Tuesday of this week, I was up before day break! Having two early appointments, I had to get going. As I woke up, there was no light coming through the windows. After my morning rituals, I left the house. No sunrise as it were, just a large canvas of “pillows” in the sky, but they were shades of dark gray, blue hues, and tints of green. Having lived in the Midwest as a kid, I know what that meant.
I quickly turned around, went back in the house, and grabbed my rain jacket!
As I drove the streets that morning, I saw something that grabbed my attention. Typically a wall cloud of dark covering the bright canvas is the sign of a thunderstorm coming with a vengeance. This morning, it appeared that the bright light of the sun and the reflection of light blue and white seemed to be overtaking the dark clouds. In the midst of this tremendous sight in the sky, the winds were blowing and the temperature was dropping––truly the storm was rolling in.
Driving into the dark clouds, the Lord just gently spoke to me… “This is what I have for you, to be a bright light in these dark times!”
My response, “Lord, here I am use me!”
Isaiah 6:8-10 says this,
8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” 9 And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ 10 Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”
You know we hear a lot of people saying that the end of the world as we know it is coming soon. The definition of the word “soon” is very debatable. I’m not sure when and how, but I do know that it will! So rather than focus on the when and how, I choose to focus on the Who! The Who is Jesus! And I love what Heb. 12:1-2 says,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
You know the storm didn’t come that morning. I was okay with it either way, but I did think of the story in Luke 8:22-25, “22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. 23 As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. 25 Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”