Hold It Up to the Light and See Him
I am not a “beach person” but I have frequented the beach with family many more summers than not. I am more of a mountain person, taken in by cold rushing streams and deep green canopies. But there is something to standing on a long sandy shore and gazing across an endless watery deep. It can be quite mesmerizing and the sheer vastness of the ocean is something worth contemplating.
Speaking of the shore, most beach goers love to take walks along the shoreline, walking up and down, watching the rising and receding tide, and occasionally looking for ocean treasure. There’s a variety of shells and oddly shaped drift wood, and if you have a keen eye you may find the coveted childhood plunder—a shark tooth (which I still haven’t found after 40 years of looking).
But earlier this week, I was walking along and looked down to see what appeared to be a small smokey-grey stone. After examining it I noticed it wasn’t a stone at all. It was a piece of sea glass! I researched it a bit, making sure I understood what I had. Apparently the darker and smokey-colored ones are quite uncommon and something to hold on to.
What struck me about it was its odd qualities. It was light in weight, with a smooth texture and rounded edges. But what was really neat was discovering that when you hold it up to the light you could see a glow behind it, as the light pierced its darkness and gave a hint of hope behind its cloudy surface.
Rare smokey-grey sea glass
“For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.” —Psalm 18:28 ESV
King David spends the entirety of Psalm 18 talking about how God is there in the midst of everything he is experiencing. He declares God’s presence, God’s salvation, and his own dependence upon the Lord when times are hard. David has been surrounded by enemies and needs the Lord’s help. In verse 28 David says that God is the one who lights a lamp in the darkness of his days. With God, the dreariness of life fades because the Lord brings light in the midst of despair.
It’s amazing what happens when we hold up the struggles in our life to the light of God’s glory. Like the rare smokey sea glass I found on the shoreline, when we hold up our lives—no matter how dark or black they seem—to the light of God, there is a glow that shines forth; a light that penetrates the darkness. We must remember in times of uncertainty or obscurity that the light of God can pierce any darkness. Psalm 139.12 says “even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” (ESV)
When you feel lost, remember that God is not. When you feel far off, know that God is very close. There is no darkness to God. He is light and His glory shines regardless of the evil or the terror of any given moment. God is still God before, during, and after any trouble that may befall us. It’s why nothing can change the goodness of God. “God is good all the time. All the time God is good.”
When things get tough and all seems dark, hold it up to the light. Watch the light of God stream through the black of your night. Your problems and troubles are not solid stones, but rather smokey glass that just need a little light behind them. The light is there, just hold it up.
—Pastor Whit
Read more inspirational messages regarding faith by checking out past Whitt’s End articles.