Pink rays on display, the colors of the sky flaring out in a grand display. Filling the sky with glory, the yellow and purple hues contrasted against the billowy clouds illuminate it all.

The sun, falling behind earth’s backside, gleams its warm light into all the once hidden shadows. 

I stand in my living room, watching the sky change second by second. I turn and see the sun beams illuminating every fleck of dust on my floors. Curious little twin girls smudged their dirty fingerprints on my living room windows. The dark gray skies had hidden all my housecleaning flaws of the week until the sunset burst in and revealed every shadow of dirt. The sun rays peeking in brought a glistening in my front room yet it also left no cobweb in the corner or dust bunny behind the side table a secret.

My heart ponders, maybe that’s how it is with the presence of God.

We cry out, begging, “more of you God, come near, be close”.… yet we turn our back on the beauty of his light bursting forth and spend our time swallowed in the cobwebs and dust bunnies that his presence reveals. 

His nearing does not lessen the shadows of darkness, it can only reveal them. 

Emmanuel, He is here with us.

I found myself reading Jesus birth in the scriptures and there it says in Matthew 2:13, 

“….Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.”

God comes, sends his son to rescue and redeem his people. He didn’t’ come as a mighty warrior like they thought, rather he came as a meek, helpless babe… and yet as his presence came to earth to dwell, immediately Herod wanted to kill him. 

Light revealing darkness.

If we only fixate on the dirt and sin hiding under the shadows his light reveals, maybe we too could miss Jesus and his nearness. 

If all we focus on was the evil of Herod wanting to kill all baby boys under the age of 2, could our hearts today miss the love of God coming to earth to rescue us?

I hear hearts aching and crying out for more of God’s presence to come in this season… prayers and longings for revival. 

But maybe for revival to come, for the Spirit to come near and break in a fresh way will mean the darkness that has been so hidden will come to greater light…and maybe the undoing of all that we knew is really his grace saving us from ourselves?

Maybe in the heaviness or darkness we see or feel in this season, in reality, is our God coming near.  

His light breaking in and illuminating shadows.

Reflecting back on a season of darkness that overcame me, God’s light rescued me. I didn’t think I could make it through, yet his presence was closer than ever before.

His presence came near and exposed it all… my soul laid bare. Fear swallowed me, yet his love rescued me. I couldn’t do anything. I had to stand still, stop fighting the darkness and keep worshipping.

 I turned and faced the light. 

Where are our eyes? What is our heart dwelling on? 

Do we have our backs turned to his beautiful light falling fresh upon us? Are we missing him because we are swallowed up in despair of the piles of dirt and cobwebs we see?

His light reveals our sin-stained hearts in need of Savior to rescue us. 

He came to die for you, for me. He came as a babe in a manager for us.
From the moment God came to earth, death marked him.
Herod the Great was after his life from the moment he entered this world while Herod Antipas, his son, was the one who called for his life at the end.

His entire life was swirled in being searched for, to be killed. 

The King of Kings walked among us, His presence here, yet darkness was ALL the more evident. 

Don’t let shadows of the valley of death discourage you that God isn’t near or he has abandoned us. I contend, He is closer than we think.

We need to turn our faces around and gaze into the light, His glory bring us on our knees before the King. We will sing and worship Him with every ounce of breathe in our lungs as we soak in all His beauty. 

 

“ But those who love the truth will come out into the Light…” John 3:21