Thunder rolled across the Montana prairie in a rage and ragged flashes of lightning weaved across the sky in a wild frenzy–showcasing its dangerous beauty. The wind lashing against the A-frame farmhouse sounded high and sharp, like a train whistle as it hurried through the one-horse town a few miles down the road.
The sky, usually lit by a brilliant canvas of stars, was inky and impenetrable. Earlier in the day, I’d been given the opportunity to stay over with my grandparents and even as the storm erupted I remined content.
Until the moment the lights went out.
The Light Always Shines Brightest in the Darkness Click To Tweet
In some ways, I feel much like the child I was then. I see calamity and chaos rising all around–from a pandemic to fires laying waste to land that stretches from California to Australia. I hear the enraged roaring of those who feel entitled to war against others because they believe in liberation from respectability, and the cries of a broken generation carry across the airwaves as young men and women march in the streets–children who were raised without Hope.
Many churches remain vacant. Deemed unnecessary, they are empty shells that were once the cause of the nation. Though the enemy has attempted to close the mouths of those who speak the truth of Christ I learned a powerful lesson from that evening long ago–the light always shines brightest in the darkness.
As a child, I was enveloped by the night. Crying out in fear, I hurtled toward the safety of my grandfather’s arms. I hadn’t noticed the sound before but the banging of the tree branches against the windows magnified and I shuddered.
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“Shhh…., you’re fine. We’re here with you,” my grandpa said. I could hear the smile in his voice as he gently handed me to my grandmother. “I’m going to get something.”
Within a few minutes, a beam of light penetrated the dark. Grandpa gave me one flashlight while he held another—their rays casting broad arcs of white across the length of the family room. The remainder of the evening, I stayed by grandpa clinging to the flashlight until my eyelids grew heavy with sleep.
Like a little girl seeking shelter in a storm, we can run to our Father in the darkest of times. When the clouds of calamity gather on the horizon and fear knocks on the door God tenderly whispers, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Then His brilliant light pierces the inkiest gloom.
It is in the darkness that His light shines the brightest.
Consider the brilliance of the rays fracturing the endless deep when God’s voice resounded, “Let there be light.” Where moments before only ebony existed, the Almighty spoke and split darkness with a word.
His presence penetrates the gloom of hatred, the violence of war, and the slurs of abuse. His glory shines from shadowy mountain clouds gathered at the apex of Mt. Sinai and illuminates the hearts of persecutors—forever altering their lives.
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A prayer for today:
Father, in a world that seems to have lost its way we ask for your strength. You’ve told us to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9) because you are our salvation. While people shout malicious words and raise their fists against one another, we ask that you give us hearts of love and that the light of Christ would shine through us. May we be beacons of hope in a hurting world. Amen
Peace and grace,
Tammy

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