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In Christ, Mark
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You are my Lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.
With Your help, I can advance against a troop (or run through a barricade); with my God, I can scale a wall.
2 Samuel 22:29-30
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever had a time in life when you felt you were walking in darkness?
Maybe you have suffered loss in some fashion, whether losing a loved one to death or experiencing a broken relationship.
Maybe you or someone you know has been diagnosed with a severe health affliction or was seriously injured in an accident or are in the throes of some form of addiction.
Maybe you’ve experienced the difficulty associated with financial hardship, not knowing where the money was going to come for you to pay the bills or put food on your table.
There’s little doubt that we can go through a myriad of tough circumstances as we live this thing called life and having gone through a few myself, I can honestly say that there are fewer worse places to be. For when we find ourselves in the darkness of physical and/or emotional hardship, we can see our hope turn into despair as we lose sight of the Lord and the path He is laying down for us…a path that leads us out of the darkness and into His light. It’s in that dark place that we face danger as we find ourselves vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks.
As we have studied the life of David, we have seen him walk through some valleys, mostly of his own making. You’ll remember how he allowed lust to get the best of him, surrendering to it when he laid eyes on another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and then committing adultery with her. From that point on in the matter, we saw where the enemy doubled down on leading David into sin as Bathsheba became pregnant, leading to Israel’s king scheming against her husband Uriah with the intent of pinning the pregnancy on him. Eventually, we know this ended up with Uriah dying, his killing facilitated by David himself after ordering Joab to place Uriah on the front line where he would be best exposed to the enemy during battle. This ultimate iniquity didn’t happen without consequence for you’ll remember that the baby born to David and Bathsheba died, a punishment imposed on the couple by the Lord.
Yes, David knew what it was like to have walked in darkness but he also knew what it was like to rediscover the Lord’s favor and return to His Light.
For well after David’s sinful behavior, the Lord delivered him from his enemies, taking the king from his time of sin and the subsequent judgment and bringing him into better times as he was delivered from all his enemies. Indeed, as he faced those who wished to do him harm, David experienced God lighting the way ahead, avoiding peril while maintaining his position of king over Israel and Judah.
And so we find David speaking from first-hand experience when he wrote this within his song of praise to God:
“You are my Lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”
Yes, David saw the Lord, his Lamp, turn the darkness in his life to light but he also gained something else…the special power to escape danger.
“With Your help I can advance against a troop (or run through a barricade); with my God, I can scale a wall.”
As we look back on David’s story, we see where God gave him the help and strength to do whatever it took to avoid his adversaries, including advancing against enemy troops, running through barricades, or scaling walls. No matter what obstacle he faced, God empowered David to overcome it.
Friends, we need to know and trust today that the same Lord that served as a Lamp for David…the same Lord who strengthened him in times of trouble also stands ready to do the same for us in the midst of our life circumstances. All we need do is trust Him and submit to His will, allowing Him to guide and bring us through. For when we place our full trust in Him and surrender to everything He wants, then and only then can we be sure that He will give us what we need for His will to be accomplished (1 John 5:14-15.)…while showing us that we can do all things through the strength He gives (Philippians 4:13).
Yes, tough times happen in life. If you’re not there today, rest assured one will be coming and when it does, what a comfort to know that we, like David, can turn to a Lord who is the Lamp that overcomes the darkness, the Lamp who surrounds us with His glorious light. And as we move toward His light, we also get to draw from His power, made stronger by Him to persevere through our challenges as He leads us through them to a place where we will praise Him for His goodness and strength that restored us to better days.
Today and every day, let us give thanks to our God for all He has been, all He is, and all He is yet to be, especially as He brings us salvation through belief in His Son Jesus.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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