Children can be very insecure at night. They often want to be near to their parents. Some of them have trouble sleeping when they feel alone, while others are bothered by the imaginary creatures that visit them or the noises that they hear. At other times it is a bad dream or a concern from the day’s experiences that causes them to feel anxious. A small night light can sometimes help. Do we ever totally outgrow all of those childhood tendencies? In the darkness, noises sound louder and closer, pain escalates and minutes and hours sometimes go by very slowly. Daylight will often bring with it a sense of reality and relief. Light is a precious gift from God.
When David wrote about God, he often used the descriptive word “light”. In the opening verse of Psalm 27, he declared, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? Coming from him, that is an amazing proclamation. In Psalm 36 he reminds himself of God’s love and faithfulness and then he says, “For with You is the fountain of life: in Your light we see light”. David could have lived in a bewildering gray world, waiting for the time when God would keep His promise, but instead he deliberately served King Saul and led armies against the enemies. Another Psalmist recalled what God had done in the past for the Israelite nation when He gave them victory over the other nations. It is a truth well worth remembering – “It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You loved them.”
Do you know the hymn entitled “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”? It goes on to say, “Look full in His wonderful face and the things (the worries and fears, the disappointments and guilt, the frustrations and failures) of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”? As you gaze at The One whose love for you will not diminish, may you feel “the light of His face shining on you, keeping you and giving you His peace – Numbers 6: 24 – 26
