6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?”
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord.
7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.
8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety.—The words of King David from Psalm 4:6-8
Did you ever go for a walk in total darkness? I’ve had two experiences in my life when I learned what it felt like to spend time in total darkness.
As a teenager, I worked at Camp Findley in Findley Lake, New York. One night, I decided to walk up the hill to a large pasture that stretched out across a plateau of level ground. Thick clouds blocked the moonlight.
As I walked further along the road through the pasture, the man-made light from the cottages below the brow of the hill faded until I finally stood in total darkness. I could not see my hands when I held them in front of my face. For just a few seconds, I stood there in total darkness. Almost immediately, a panic began to well up within me. So, I quickly turned on my flashlight. What a relief to see that beam of light.
Several years later, as a young adult, I made a special inspection at a film processing plant. The center of the plant housed a number of rooms where workers opened the incoming film canisters and loaded the exposed film into the processing machines. The plant engineer, who acted as my guide, told me that these rooms had not seen any light for over twenty years. All operations took place in total darkness. Even the mechanics who repaired the machines learned to do their work by training with blindfolds so they could make repairs in the totally dark rooms.
When I entered the room through a series of light locks, the total darkness took my breath away. Only the softly encouraging voice of the plant engineer helped still the rising panic that gripped me.
“Keep your left hand on the railing,” he told me. “No matter what you do, don’t let go.”
We stood there for what seemed like an hour, but probably only lasted a couple of minutes. I could hear the noise of the processing machines and the voices of the workers as they spoke to one another.
Finally, the plant engineer said, with a smile in his voice, “Have you seen enough?”
I nodded my head. Then I laughed as I realized he couldn’t see my head nod. “Yes,” I chuckled. “I’ve seen enough.”
As a young shepherd boy, Kind David had experienced many nights alone in the darkness. The soft breeze of the night air brushed lightly across his forehead. The sheep made their sheep noises as they settled down for the night. I cannot help but feel David remembered some of those long ago nights when he penned the words to the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post.
We live in a world darkened by sin. We struggle to maintain our equilibrium, wallowing in circumstances that would gladly rob us of any sense of well-being. Yet we can place our hope in the God who loves us. We can join King David and invite God to let the light of His face shine upon us.
Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig, and Dan Dean of the contemporary Christian trio, Phillips, Craig and Dean, have written a wonderful song, “Shine on Us,” that illustrates King David’s prayer:
Lord, let Your light, light of Your face
Shine on us (repeat)
That we may be saved
That we may have life
To shine our way in the darkest night
Let your light shine on us
Lord, let your grace, grace from Your hand,
Come over us (repeat)
That we may be saved
That we may have life
To shine our way in the darkest night
Let Your grace come over us
Lord, let Your love, love with no end
Fall on us (repeat)
That we may be saved,
That we may have life
To shine our way in the darkest night
Let Your love fall on us
Let Your light shine on us
Please click here for a really well-done version of this song by the MBC Choir and Deaf Mute Ensemble.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Thank You, Precious Father, that You remain willing to hear our cries for help and to shine the light of Your face into the darkness that would swallow us. We rest in the enabling power of Your Holy Spirit to keep us walking in the Light of Your Presence.
We thank You for continuing to love us in spite of our unworthiness. Each step we take, every moment of every day, we need Your divine power to keep us upright and on the straight pathway you have laid out for us. And, we thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment