Never Too Dark

It's four in the morning, I've just let the dog out. One of those sleepless nights for me, a golden opportunity for her. She'll sniff and explore-- but not too far, it's pretty dark out there. She's got the heart of a lion-- she really does, but something in her brain tells her there are things out there to be feared, and that something overrides her lionheart and she fears. I peer into the darkness as hard I can, as if squinting and leaning forward an inch will give me some advantage over the absence of the sun overhead. She's gone beyond any light coming from our kitchen and I can no longer see her. It is dark out there.

It's four in the morning. My brain is running amok. Will there be enough money to pay the bills this month? Will Mom be okay while I'm gone this weekend? Did I get Scott those snacks he likes? How will my doctor's appointment go? What is going on with that "check engine" light?  Life can be pretty scary-- even with the lights on.

In Psalm 139 (TPT), the writer asks the questions: Where could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from Your face? The answer is, nowhere! If I go up to heaven, You’re there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, You’re there too! If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, You’re there! If I fly into the radiant sunset, You’re there waiting! There is nowhere we can choose to go, or wander and get lost, or even, be taken that God cannot see us. There is no such thing as darkness with You, the psalmist goes on to sing. The night, to You, is as bright as the day; there’s no difference between the two.

When the door opens, and we stick our noses out into the frosty darkness, and we give the air a sniff, and God whispers, Go ahead, get out there and check out the place I've created for you, do our brains start tabulating all the things there are to be feared? Sitting safely behind the door at the Master's feet we have hearts of lions, but as we begin to wander a little further from the kitchen light...

I've got you, God says. I'm not squinting or leaning or wondering where you are. I see you. I formed you in the darkness of your mother's womb. That freckle that you have-- the one right there beneath your right ear --I placed that there in the pitch black warmth of your mother's body. And that branch of the pear tree that always casts that scary shadow on the gate? I formed that, too. And your doctor's appointment that's got you tossing and turning at 4am? I already know the answers and I'm waiting to walk you through them. There is no such thing as darkness with Me. The light, the night-- they're both the same to Me, obedient. 

Now get your dog and go to sleep.

Photo courtesy Brandon Dewade