"And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness."
Isaiah 8:21-22
I think we all feel like this some time in our lives. We are going through something really, really hard, and we're already weak or in a bad mood, and then something worse happens and we look upward, as though to ask God... really? What else are you going to do to me? Haven't I been through enough? And in those moments we are sick of dealing with all of it and we try to push it all off on him, blaming him for all of it, saying that it isn't fair, and we can't handle it, and everything else that we can think of to try to make it about something besides ourselves, and what we need to face. And at times like that, we do look down at the earth, and we don't see the hope or the good. We just see the pain and the darkness, and since nothing seems to matter, sometimes we, unfortunately, choose to walk further in... away from the light and away from God.
And I know that none of us need extra depressing scriptures to start our days, and maybe we remember all too well what hopelessness feels like. But the reason that I chose these verses is that, when we turn the page into the next chapter, we read "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined" (Isaiah 9:2). In this case it is talking about Christ coming to deliver his people... and in our case I think it is talking about the same thing. Yes, sometimes we let the darkness in, as we never, ever should... but when we do, God is always there, willing to come and drive it away again. Doesn't mean we should play with fire, of course, but it does mean that we can be saved from the darkness. It does mean that we can turn the page and find the light. Today, let's remember that. Let's remember that there is no darkness that can survive the presence of God. As we turn to him and allow him into our lives, he can drive away any darkness, and help us repent of any sin. Let's move away from that Shadow of Death place, and start a new life in someplace much shinier, with the Lord's help.
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness."
Isaiah 8:21-22
I think we all feel like this some time in our lives. We are going through something really, really hard, and we're already weak or in a bad mood, and then something worse happens and we look upward, as though to ask God... really? What else are you going to do to me? Haven't I been through enough? And in those moments we are sick of dealing with all of it and we try to push it all off on him, blaming him for all of it, saying that it isn't fair, and we can't handle it, and everything else that we can think of to try to make it about something besides ourselves, and what we need to face. And at times like that, we do look down at the earth, and we don't see the hope or the good. We just see the pain and the darkness, and since nothing seems to matter, sometimes we, unfortunately, choose to walk further in... away from the light and away from God.
And I know that none of us need extra depressing scriptures to start our days, and maybe we remember all too well what hopelessness feels like. But the reason that I chose these verses is that, when we turn the page into the next chapter, we read "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined" (Isaiah 9:2). In this case it is talking about Christ coming to deliver his people... and in our case I think it is talking about the same thing. Yes, sometimes we let the darkness in, as we never, ever should... but when we do, God is always there, willing to come and drive it away again. Doesn't mean we should play with fire, of course, but it does mean that we can be saved from the darkness. It does mean that we can turn the page and find the light. Today, let's remember that. Let's remember that there is no darkness that can survive the presence of God. As we turn to him and allow him into our lives, he can drive away any darkness, and help us repent of any sin. Let's move away from that Shadow of Death place, and start a new life in someplace much shinier, with the Lord's help.
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