This Winter has been particularly hard. Having a husband who manages snow removal made me very much aware that for two months straight, we had heavy snows every single weekend. Couple that with a few weeks of below freezing temperatures and you start to wonder if you will ever feel warm again!
It’s about this time of year where I start to get antsy for the sun which is what drove my husband and I to take a quick trip to Florida. We boarded a 6am flight in Chicago where mild flurries and a cloudy day greeted us on the runway. Dreaming of the warmth I would soon experience in Florida, I stared out the window during takeoff.
All of a sudden, the plane burst through the layer of clouds and the warmth of the rising sun met my face. I’ve flown plenty of times, but never experienced the plane piercing through dark clouds to reveal intense light. It was such a huge contrast! I was so taken back that my husband had to elbow me to shut the window a bit because the guy across the aisle was being blinded by the rays.
I laid my head on the window and let the warmth cover my face for the entire ascent.
“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” -John 8:12
The sun is always there, we know this…but sometimes, for even long seasons, it’s covered by clouds so we don’t feel it.
The Son is always there, we know this…but sometimes, for even long seasons, circumstances cloud our view so we don’t feel Him.
BUT….oh the BUT…the moment those clouds break and we feel the warmth of His presence and see the blinding light of His goodness, and it reminds us He is all we need.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” -John 1:5
If you are experiencing a long season of darkness, remember you are triumphant in Jesus because no darkness can overcome Him in you. You will feel joy again, you will feel hope again, you will feel light again.
I think that’s one of the reasons I love the book of Isaiah so much: it’s filled with God’s people turning away from God and God’s wrath on them as a result. BUT…oh the BUT… moments of light shine through verses and chapters pointing towards Jesus and redemption. It makes all the dark times shrink away as the light overtakes them.
“No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; BUT (emphasis mine) you will have the Lord for an everlasting light…And the days of your mourning will be over.” -Isaiah 60:19-20
He is our prize, He is our light and our warmth, and no darkness will ever overtake Him. May you feel the warmth of His love today and know that there will come a day where all darkness will be consumed forevermore.