“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” Deut. 31:8 NIV.
We experienced a special event in the heavens on August 21, 2017. There was a total eclipse of the sun. This eclipse was visible near my home on the east coast of the United States. Many family and friends gathered together and made an afternoon of sun-watching, each wearing a pair of NASA-approved sunglasses. These events are rare, but we do experience them from time to time.
I remember as a young child in 1970, I could watch from the window as the sun fell into total darkness. My mother had heard health warnings about viewing the sun during the eclipse. She would not allow me to go outside. She was afraid I would look up and burn my retinas. The newscasters began to broadcast these same warnings regarding our recent event. As the moon passes between the earth and the sun blocking its light, the sun still wields tremendous power. The sun’s rays can blind and burn through the darkness.
Like an eclipsed sun, darkness can overshadow our lives. Those are times we may begin to feel all alone. During our most difficult days it is easy to think we are separated from God and His power. Even though critical circumstances, opposing people, and unexpected events may try to blind us to the Lord’s presence, He is still there. He is still working on our behalf. He is still wielding His power and is well-able to fulfill His promises to us. Like the moon which cannot stop the potent sunbeams, our darkest trials cannot extinguish the Lord. His word lets me know that darkness is like light to Him.
“Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” Psalm 139:12 NIV.
When uncertainty and doubt try to block the Father’s light, remember that He sees through the night and into your heart. The darkness must give way to His power. He knows and cares about all that concerns you.
If you set your spiritual sight on God, like the sun shining on the other side of the moon, you will discover the power and person of the Lord is still there (Jehovah-Shammah).
Dear Father, Thank You for the promise that You will never leave me nor forsake me. As your child I can count your strength and power to help me through the tough trails that tempt me to forget your presence in every circumstance. Help me to continue to look to You no matter what may try to come between us. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.
I’m going to be writing a post about the eclipse today! Great one!
Heather
Jehovah Shammah – He sees us. That is a new one for me and I am clinging to it. Such a good reminder that He sees us. Nothing is hidden from him. Which reminds me that He is in control and I do not need to respond our of fear.
He does see us, for sure. Hagar discovered that when Sarah threw her out of the camp (Gen.16:13). I’m so glad He’s in charge and not me. Jehovah-Shammah (Ez.48:35) comforts me because I can count on the fact that the Lord is There. He’s with us wherever we are. David wrote, “If I descend to the heavens or make my bed in hell, thou art there” [my paraphrase] Ps. 139:8. Thank you and Blessings 🙂
One of my favorite names of our Lord is Jehovah Shammah! Thank you for the reminder that “when you face those uncertain times and darkness tries to block the Father’s light in your life remember the Lord is there.” Beautiful!
One of my fav verses – the Lord goes before you. Having traveled from Memphis to the totality zone, I saw the eclipse in all its glory (and blogged abut it, too, like you.) It was a spiritual event for me, a fact that sort of took me by surprise. I’m glad to hear others also found God in the event.
Thank you for these great thoughts focusing on God’s great power of darkness!
I watched the eclipse on television. I know rather boring of me, but I kept thinking about how wonderful our Creator is to capture so many people’s attention. Thanks for the reminder to trust.
This was a great reminder! Trust is a difficult thing. It means I can’t be God and orchestrate my circumstances. And I do love how the Lord uses His creation to turn our attention to the Creator.
What a beautiful parallel and reminder that God is always at work for us even when we don’t see Him.
Love the connection used here! Great reminder to trust in the midst of darkness.
Love it. Thanks for the reminder that the “Son” still wields His power!
What a beautiful parallel to our Heavenly Father always at work. Thank you for this reminder.
Beautiful truth. And such a wonderful use of this historic event. I thought about God also. We lost 80% of the sun during the eclipse. I was surprised at how much light we still received. And I too thought of God and was reminded of how even a small portion could still light the way. Thanks for this thoughtful post!
Good thought for a Monday ☺
“He sees; He knows; He moves. Our job is just to trust Him”
I strongly agree with this massage. Thank you Carla, It is beautiful.