When the waters are murky, He is perfectly clear…

A powerful light shines in the dark. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Surely God is with you…” Isaiah 45:14

I believe this to  be abundantly and wholly true.  I trust that no matter the situation, how clouded our thinking  or our hearts may be, the Lord is ever present. He is a breath away…always waiting to hear from our broken and contrite hearts.

We cry to Him “why?” and “how?” when things don’t go our way, or our cross is seemingly too heavy to bear.  We cry out in frustration and anguish when life is derailed and we face heartache and trial…all of which He has prepared us for.  He promises struggle in our lives.  But, He also promises goodness and mercy and to always be with us.  He never leaves or forsakes us…

I could, we all could, rattle off a list of woes and troubles.  Together we could fill volumes of angst.  We could sit eternally prattling on about our misgivings and our tribulations…or we could sing praise and gratitude to the One who holds us close during it all.

Heartache and brokenness are fibers of our human condition, they create the tapestry of our quilted lives…however, so do joy and delight.  In all things there is hope.  All things.

I am a child of two parents who have gone to be with the Lord, far sooner than I would have preferred, but God knew what He was doing when He called them home.  I look back on the path He set me on and I see His perfect threading of mercy and grace that has carried me and overwhelmed me with His presence.

I made decisions that, all though I am forgiven for, still meet me heart broken, but, I see the gold in the cracks of my aching that He has placed so tenderly.

In the darkness of our situations, it is never purely black.  The light is always present, if only streaming in through the tears and rips of our pain He is light abundant and can never, ever be put out.  His light shines in all situations.

While at times, when I am suffering through my own trials, I like to think I am alone and the only one who suffers, yet I am reminded of those who have gone before me or along side me whose trials are profoundly greater and more perplexing than my own.  I think of mothers who have buried babies.  I think of nations under the delusion of atheism.  I think of the one who sits awaiting trial in solitary confinement for belief in our Lord, our light.  I think of these people and my heart finds relief in the trials I have experienced, for none have broken me or left me lifeless.

My life is not my own.  I made a decision years ago to surrender it all to Christ. I  decided that He would be my compass…and some days the path is bright and smooth and beautiful; others, the path is ragged and tiresome…but there is always light…the LIGHT OF CHRIST.

Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart’s cry is for Your return…until that day, I ask that You carry us all through the trials of this life.  I pray that our struggles may be used for Your goodness and that through our pain and suffering we may be beacons of God-hope for those who are distant from Your grip.  I pray that we would not be overcome by affliction, but we would be overwhelmed by Your abundant love and protection.

I pray these things in Jesus’ name…Amen.

---