Showing posts with label bible. Show all posts

a {light} in the dark

"I want to be a light"

But the light reveals what is concealed by darkness.

And the light forces you to face those demons lurking in the dark. The secrets and worries and fears that consume your very being every day. 

The light reveals the pain, the shame, the suffering, the ghosts of the past and the skeletons in the closet.

all of the habits and hurts, the addictions that you have taken care to hide - out of sight out of mind.

But the light comes and brings conviction - the things you have hidden can be seen - and they can be stopped. 

Because the light comes not to condemn but to save. Not to ridicule but to rescue. The demons that you live with day by day are destroyed by the love of the light.

The light doesn't take your hurts and push them further away or use them as blackmail for the rest of your life - He stretches our his arms and says "it. Is. Finished" and they are gone.

So be a light and let the light live inside of you - let him shine through all of your crack and creases. The broken parts of you only allow him to shine through you that much more. 

"For the light shines I the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it." - John 1:5

driving through the {fog}

lately, i've been worried.

i've been concerned, mainly, with where i'm going - both in the near and distant future - how in the world am i'm going to get there from where i am right now.

this past weekend, while driving to a pastor's conference, it hit me. literally, and figuratively.

fog.

the kind that makes it impossible to see more than 5 feet in front of you.
the kind that distorts your vision.
the kind that makes everything - even the things you know are most certain - seem a little blurry.

i mean, i could see for the most part. i could see the outline of green highway signs, the of other lights and signs that were coming up.

but my vision was still blurry.

i knew that i was heading in the right direction, i knew that my destination would remain unchanged.

but i was still scared.

i've been living my life lately in a fog - i know (sort of) what my final destination is, but i've been waiting for signs or lights or anything that would guide me to the next checkpoint.

i've only been able to see the path under my feet - not much further than finishing this semester, next semester, graduation in april.

i can't see what's next - i might see the glow of lights somewhere in the distance that tell me where i am, i might see a sign, but i can't make out what it says quite yet.

but i am thankful that God is still with me, even when the road is foggy. i'm even more thankful that he is the one that directs me:

   "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light onto my path." (Ps 119:105)

Grabbing hold to God's word gives light to our path - the only way to combat the fog that we encounter on our journeys. He's got plans and promises for our lives, twists and turns in the road, but we can trust that He is perfect in all of his plans for us!

be faithful, not fearful.

i've been debating and thinking about this post for about a week.

i've started and restarted it about five times, but each time i couldn't come up with the right words to say.

last weekend, we went on retreat with the rest of the NL students at tyndale.

and, as in previous years, it was a fantastic time meeting with God. but, in a magical turn of events, it was a great time with great people too!

on the first night the speaker focused on leadership, and how it entails pain. pain of criticism, creating something new, making hard decisions, and disappointments.

now, if that isn't a shock to the system after settling in for a relaxing, encouraging weekend, i don't know what it.

you see, back when i was in my first year i was terrified. it physically pained me to think about being in ministry. so much that whenever i would enter into the presence of God i cried uncontrollably. i didn't think i was good enough for this calling, i didn't think that i would be able to handle it. i was controlled by fear.

but during this weekend, i realized that this pain was inevitable. i have no control over how others perceive me, i can only be responsible for how i see myself. no one else's opinion about me matters other than God's, and he loves me beyond compare.

since arriving at tyndale, one constant theme has been following me: dream big. God has been challenging me to keep dreaming bigger dreams that i would have ever dared to dream before.

before this year, i was afraid of the plans that God had for my life. but i've heard him whisper to me: i'm with you, i go before you and i walk beside you wherever you may go. dream bigger than anyone thinks you can. be full of faith in the dreams you have. not full of fear.

Paul says in Ephesians:



20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. - Ephesians 3:20-21

dream big.

be faithful, not fearful.

until next time,
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