Light into the Darkness

January 12, 2021 Georgia Tanner

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

Sometimes there is a recurring prayer that comes and nestles deep into my brain and snuggles firmly into my heart and soul. A prayer etched with the words of God. This past summer there were prayer instructions from God’s Word that showed up each morning, no matter where I turned in my English Standard Version. Mainly, God kept me in the battle songs of Psalms, where light fights darkness. Here we are in January and as I open His Word today, this same thought is here in Isaiah:

And I will lead the blind

in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known

I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground.

These are the things I do,

and I do not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

And my God asks the question, “Who among you will give ear to this, will attend and listen for the time to come? v23

This has been my constant prayer this summer, this fall, and into this winter: “My Lord, open my ears that I may hear, open my eyes that I may see. Do not let me be deceived. Bring what is done in darkness out into the light.”

It is a prayer asking for God’s discernment. It is a prayer abandoning my own knowledge for God’s wisdom. It is a prayer acknowledging my weakness, my brokenness; it is a prayer confessing my short-sightedness and blindness and surrendering my ears that only want to hear what is pleasing to me.

A woman I highly respect said to me yesterday, "Be very afraid, for you may soon see your prayers answered." Evil done in darkness brought into the light will not be peaceful. It will not be pretty. If I truly want the light to shine into the darkness, there may be things I do not want to see, words I do not want to hear, truths I may not want to believe.

This is what I have been learning from David. Yes, he was a young shepherd who wrote the 23rd song of green pastures and still waters – but he was also an anointed king pursued by an enemy army. He knew God Most High saw him and heard his cries. This God of David kept “track of his tossings and put his tears in His bottle and wrote of them in His book.” (Psalm 56:8)

His songs are cries to God, his Rock, his Refuge, his Calm in the storm.

He did not see his God as One filled with fear or powerless. In his God, he saw steadfast love and righteousness, faithfulness and deliverance. His God was a protective shield, a mighty bow, a spear against the enemy.

I have been surprised that God has kept me for months in these warring songs of David. David, the shepherd who used a small smooth stone to defeat a giant. David, whose hands were so bloodied by battle that he was not allowed to build a temple to his God. David was a man pursued. And he was a man entangled with God’s purpose for him. He was a poet and a musician and a fighter who constantly sought God’s heart. And that was where he took his stand.

God was his Strength, his Foundation, his Fortress, his Salvation; “…his refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

These are not passive ‘feel good’ lullabies; these are impassioned cries to his Mighty God. These are the passages I have underlined and cried through during these confusing days. These are battle songs and pleas for forgiveness and justice all rolled up together. These are words that may encourage you if you see the mountains crumbling into the sea and long to know who to trust: Psalm 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 18, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 40, 42, 57, 62, 69, 71, 73, 91, 94, 96, 103, 104, 113, 118, 139. The list is long and deep.

If God will ever let me out of the ancient scriptures of the Hebrews, I will again read the words of Jesus. But the words coming to mind these days echo the words of David.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues…”

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”

Matthew 10:16-17,26-28,34-36

These are the words I have never liked very much. And I know enough history to know those hearing these words did not have an easy time of it. Quite frankly I know it is much more pleasing to cling to the miracles and the wonders. But I remember a betrayal, a midnight arrest, an unfair trial, and the derisive disgust of the crowds crying "Crucify him."

A thought comes to mind; “Buckle up, buttercup”.

I think there are storm clouds on the horizon. I do not think peace is in the immediate forecast. I know God interrupted my reading of the stories of Jesus and planted me firmly in the cries of David. So I continue my prayer:

“My Lord, open my ears that I may hear, open my eyes that I may see. Do not let me be deceived. Bring what is done in darkness out into the light.” Amen.

Lauren Daigle - Rescue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYR0xP1j4PY&list=PLGou3D0f2NfDmgH2rF5j3nUlZOy6jFYnI

You are not hidden

There's never been a moment

You were forgotten

You are not hopeless

Though you have been broken

Your innocence stolen

I hear you whisper underneath your breath

I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

There is no distance

That cannot be covered

Over and over

You're not defenseless

I'll be your shelter

I'll be your armor

I hear you whisper underneath your breath

I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

I will never stop marching to reach you

In the middle of the hardest fight

It's true, I will rescue you

Photo by Kat Jayne from Pexels