Light In The Darkness

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."
Psalm 112:4 (NKJV)

We have all been in situations where we did not know what to do.  Whether it was a question about the future, our family, our job, or if it was a question about how to best handle a problem we were dealing with, we have all had that feeling of not knowing what to do.  Just like everyone else, I have been there too, and it is not a nice place to be.  When it seems like we are in the dark, when we do not really know what to do, one thing we can be sure of is that we are not alone.  God knows about our situation, and He wants to help us, and He will.

Our life as a follower of Jesus should be just that, following Jesus.  But what does it mean to follow Jesus and allow God to guide us in our life?  Does following Jesus mean that we always know the way that we are going, or are we walking by faith and following God's direction?  If we are following Jesus, if we are doing the will of God and being led by the Holy Spirit, does that mean we are doing our best to figure things out for ourselves, or are we looking to God, the wisdom of His Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit to give us the direction and help we need in our life?

Psalm 112:4 talks about light rising up in the darkness for the righteous, but what does that mean?  If we are in some natural darkness, we need some light to see where we can and should go.  If we seem to be in some spiritual darkness, because we do not know where to go, or how to do what we need to do, we can trust God to give us the light, wisdom, and direction that we need.   We have to trust God and get light and understanding from His Word, and by the Holy Spirit, to do what we need to do, and not just try to figure something out on our own.  Even when it seems dark, God will give us light.

Don't Lose Your Smile

"that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."
1 John 1:3-4 (NKJV)

The other day, I saw a group of young children on the way to their school.  One thing I noticed is that several of the children were talking with each other, laughing, smiling, and playing around as they walked along.  Of course, not every child was doing that, but several of them were.  As I saw these things, I thought to myself that while so many of these children are smiling, it usually happens that when the children become adults, they seem to lose their smile.  This seemed a bit sad to me, and I thought that none of us should ever lose our smile.

When we are happy, and when things are going great, we smile.  One reason we might say that children laugh and smile so easily is that they are not dealing with a lot of the things in life that we all have to deal with as we become adults.  But, as Christians, we should never lose our smile, because our life is not based on our circumstances and the things we deal with in life.  Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength, and if that is true (and it is), then Christians should have a smile on their face no matter what the situation may be.  

In 1 John 1, the Apostle John wrote that he wanted believers to have fellowship with each other and that their joy would be full.  John made two important points here: having proper fellowship and focusing on what has been written in God's Word will help us be full of joy.  It is easy to look at life and our circumstances and lose our smile and lose our joy, but if we stay in proper fellowship with God and we stay focused on God's Word, we can have joy in the midst of the challenges of life.  Our joy, and our smile should not depend on our outward circumstances, but on our relationship with God.

Even Snails Don't Quit

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Recently, as I was out for a run on a trail through a forest, I saw a snail moving across the path I was on.  The snail was not going very fast, and I wondered how long it would take that snail to make the journey across the path, which was a dangerous thing for it to do as the snail could easily be crushed by someone.  But then I had another thought; no matter what, that snail is not going to quit.  That snail had a goal, and it was going to do everything that was necessary to get to the other side of the path and to where it was going.

One thing we all know is that life is not always easy, because we all face challenges.  We are all making our way through life, and hopefully doing what we can to live out the plan God has for us.  It is easy to have great ideas about what we want to do in life and how we want to serve God, but it can be just as easy to quit when things get difficult.  The real test comes when we are challenged to quit.  But rather than just quitting when things get hard, and things will get hard, we need to be committed to doing whatever it takes for us to reach our goals.  

In places like Hebrews 12, the Bible talks about our running the race that is set before us.  Our life and the things we do in our relationship with God are all a part of that race.  We must run our race with endurance, and we must never quit.  Starting a race is easy, and it is something anyone can do.  But finishing a race well is something else.  We need to keep moving forward in the race that we are running for God, and no matter how difficult it may get, and no matter how long it takes, we never quit, but we keep going until we reach our God given goals.