As an island girl (read more about my story here), one of my favorite forms of relaxation is sitting in direct sunlight. I love the sun’s rays on my face. I love the warmth that permeates to my insides. I love feeling like I’m in the Caribbean no matter where I am geographically.
Sunlight can be hard to come by in central Pennsylvania where I have lived for over two decades. Overcast days can extend into weeks in which the sun hides indefinitely. During the winter months, darkness takes over before five o’clock in the afternoon. Having suffered with depression for years, my internal world has often mirrored the gloominess of the cloudy forecast.
In my craving for internal and external sunniness, I have returned repeatedly to the story of creation in Genesis.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. (Genesis 1: 1-2 KJV)
Like me, perhaps you can you relate to the darkness, chaos, and emptiness described in these verses. Maybe your inner world feels like a “soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness” (Genesis 1: 1-2 The Message). Maybe your circumstances resemble a disordered void and a barren wasteland.
What was God’s response to the darkness?
He moved. He acted. His Spirit hovered like a bird above the void.
Then He spoke, “Let there be light.” And there was light.
Light!
Shining from One in whom there is no darkness AT ALL (I John 1: 5)
I am struck anew by how the first three verses of the Bible illustrate Divine Reversal, a transformation from darkness to light, from chaos to order, from nothing to something. And this theme continues throughout the pages of scripture, including the New Testament.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 4: 6 KJV)
Wow! God commands light to shine out of darkness. He is serious about light shining in our hearts and what light brings. Vision. Understanding. Revelation. Hope.
Where do you need light to shine out of darkness?
My prayer for you today is that the spirit of God would hover upon the areas of your life that seem void, empty, waste, and dark just like He did in creation. May you hear God’s voice proclaiming into your innermost being, “Let there be light!”
Through His light, may your vision be clear. May your understanding be accurate. May your hope be secure.
Let there be light!
In what areas do you need light? What areas have you seen His light shine? Comment below!
1 thought on “Let There Be Light”
Susan,
This is a beautiful metaphor of the heart and the earth that God created. He created both the heart of man and he created the earth for man to enjoy. He said that he shines his light in our hearts when we give our hearts to him. He also said that we are like a light on a hill not to be hidden by a basket. He said he is the light of the world. And if he lives inside of us than we are like windows that his light can shine out of. I understand exactly what you’re talking about as I too went through years of depression. Thinking things will never change. Change sometimes is hard to “see”. I lived in Centre County for 30 plus years. Now I live in Austin where the sun is so bright that when you go outside you can barely see. It is very very warm or should I say hot. Quite a difference from Centere County. Like night and day. Like you just talked about! Divine reversal’s can happen anywhere, right? So in Sunny Texas or cloudy Centre County God is doing his Divine reversal’s in the lives of his people. All over the world. Trusting for a complete reversal in my own life. God always finishes what he started.