A freak snowstorm hit my area in October, and thousands of people were in the dark – for days.  The lights and power were non-existent in my home for four days, the nights were dark and cold, and it looked like it would stay this way for many more days.

When the lights came back on, it was more than exciting – it was exhilirating, energizing, euphoric.  My strong reaction to the lights coming on surprised me.

The lack of light, the darkness, had created in me a ravenous hunger for light!

When the lights came back on, I felt like dancing.  The normal experience of enjoying light and heat, after having been plunged into darkness, now seemed like an occasion to celebrate.

The short span of darker days that happens in certain time zones between November and December also spans celebrations and customs when the light “returns” on the solstice in December.  After a spat of darkness, we look forward with anticipation to lengthier days, even if that means a minute more of sunlight each day.

Understanding my appetite for light on this physical plane helps me to grasp the implications of God and His ability and willingness to bring light into the darkness of life.  The darkness of my life, the places that I can’t see or function.  Like the psalmist, I can say,

For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. Psalm 18:28 (ESV)

 

I have to look deeper to gauge my reaction to the LORD turning on the lights in my life.  Do I feel euphoric, like I did after my lamps came on after the utility company restored our power lines?

Or, is it true of me that… the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  John 3:19

Lord, may I walk in the light and allow Your light to penetrate my darkness.  Keep me anticipating the light, and never choosing my darkness over your light.  Amen.