Crack! “What was that?” My friend grabbed my hand in our darkened tent. A brief rain had dampened our twilight, marshmallows and sleeping bags. “Something touched me.” I replied, “That was me, silly.” Embarrassed and relieved, “Oh ... good,” my friend whispered.

Have you ever been scared? Scouts honor, this was one night when the imaginations of two young campers got the better of them. Sweet songs around the campfire, as well as its light were long gone. “Why don’t we sing?” my campmate urged.

“The ... woods ... are lovely, dark ... and deep…” My quivering voice was barely audible. “Maybe music isn’t a good such a good idea, well at least not that song.” She encouraged me to pipe up a melody and a happier lyric. We were already keenly aware of the deep, dark, lovely—try creepy—woods. Up to our necks in mind-made terror, fear’s grip tightened. Hearts pounding, minds racing—“I wish it were morning.” Tears choked her words as I sniffed, “Me too.”

Snap! “There it is again!” we shrieked in unison. Suddenly, light poured into our canvas shelter. “You guys okay in here?” Flashlight in hand, the gentle voice of our camp counselor greeted our fainting spirits with hope, help and a radiant beam, which dispelled the darkness and our fears. In the light we could see and distinguish the real from the imagined.

Then Jesus spoke to them saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” —John 8:12 (NKJV)

Jesus breaks into life in the dark, with the light of God. Shadows flee as Christ illumines our world-view with the beauty of truth. What is false is discernable from what is real. Messiah comes to build up the faint hearted, expose the folly of fear and assure us that by His grace and in His mercy we may find rest from our wanderings and worries.

Christ has come that we may no longer be bound by the cares of this world. He has freed us from the darkness of sin and its painful grip. Enslaved by agendas, commitments, obligations and a self-imposed, overblown sense of our own importance we strive blindly in the dark.

The light of God and love of Christ change everything. As in a musty tent pitched amid a forest of pine trees in Wisconsin’s north woods, where a flashlight was as welcome as the dawn, so it is with our Lord Jesus. His light is as new and beautiful as a sunny morning after a long dark night. Jesus is the light of the world. Darkness cannot overcome. Our Lord shines on.

Dear Lord, Shine in our world. Shine on us. Shine into our darkened hearts. Shine, Jesus, shine! Now and forever, Amen.

Copyright © 2010 by Waters of Life^TM Ministry for Women, Inc., www.wolministry.com Share