Devotions with Pastor Donny

 Isaiah 9:2-4
2  The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
    as with joy at the harvest,
    as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden,
    and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as on the day of Midian.
 
One of the games that has been fun to play along with youth groups in ministry over the years is a game called sardines. It is a bit of different take on the game of hide and seek. One person hides, and everyone else searches for the hidden person. Whenever a person finds the hidden person, they quietly join them in their hiding spot. Soon, the hidden group starts to look like a bunch of sardines! It has been most enjoyed when it’s dark, keeping all the lights off in the church. Maybe I’m just strange, but it can be somewhat creepy walking around the church in the dark. You know nothing is there, but you still want to get into the light as soon as possible.
It doesn’t make sense, really, to feel this way about the dark. Nothing about the territory changes, whether the light is on or off. But in the light our perspective makes a shift; we can see, and we are reassured.
Following Christ is pretty similar. There will be struggles and dark moments in our lives, even for the most faithful of us. But with Christ our perspective changes; we can see, and we are reassured. We will all stumble around in the darkness from time to time, but know that the Light is there and rejoice.
Great and wondrous God, your light is an ever-shining lighthouse in my life and in the world. Help me to see your light in all things. Help me to reflect your light into all the corners of my life, of my relationships, and my community. Amen.
 
Pastor Donny