The Light of the World

I, like most people,have played many roles in this life of mine. Some of them were unhealthy, such as a prodigal child, rebellious teen, and a wandering believer. I have also played the role of dedicated wife. I took this role seriously and remained in a dysfunctional marriage for 11 years until I was finally set free. Currently I am a single mom, friend, student, cake decorator and recently I even signed up to become an Avon representative. All of these things are okay, but, first and foremost, I am a child of God. Without Him, none of the rest even matters. That is why, in spite of the darts that are thrown at me daily; I will keep reaching for that prize that only comes from knowing Christ. I try to see the trials that come my way as an opportunity for growth. This is not to say that I do not get depressed or feel hopeless at times. Sometimes I feel like I am alone and nobody understands what I am going through. It is in these times that I just tell myself, "I am not going through anything that anybody else isn not going through."



Everybody has problems and to each one, the problems are unique and painful. Each of us struggles with the temptation to take the load that Christ desires to carry in our place (Matt 11:28-30). So many times people refer to Hebrews 4:15 to help comfort those suffering in times of temptation and weakness. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin," I suppose that hearing the words, "You are not experiencing anything that Jesus cannot understand because He has experienced it Himself," is supposed to offer some kind of comfort to those in great pain. Of course it is! Yet, we have heard it said so often that some might call it cliche. Well, it is not. It is Truth and it is meant to offer comfort. After all, I cannot even begin to imagine the horror of that experience. Christ knew that He was heading for the Cross. That was His goal…to die…in our behalf. He did it knowingly and willingly. On the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the epitome of suffering like no man can ever know. He took upon Himself the sins of all mankind (1 Peter 2:24). I cannot even begin to fathom what that must have been like and I praise God that I never will. However, to a heart that is so desperately lost in hopelessness (especially one who does not know Christ), this may not come as comfort. But to a believer such as myself, even when I get irritated by these words (and there are times when I do) I do know the validity of the Truth that has found its root in the depths of my soul. Therefore, by His strength in my times of weakness, I can reach down deep inside and bring to the surface His word that I have hidden in my heart. That is what has kept me going through the most difficult times in my life.



Hiding His word in my heart has saved me in more ways than I can put in a book. One of the most important ways to get through times of worry is by focusing on Christ and the Truth that His Word teaches. It is so important to keep focused on the path that is right in front of me and to avoid trying to see what is out of sight down the road. We need to trust God with that part. He knows the end of the story and only He knows the best way to get there. We are encouraged by Paul's example to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). Some may see "the prize" as being at the "end of the road" which may sound like contradiction to focusing on the here and now. But in reality, it is quite the opposite. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning AND the end (Rev. 22: 12-14). The light to our path is the Word (Psalm 119:105) who is Christ (John 1). Therefore He is not just at the end of the road. He is before us, behind us, right in front of us, and ever present with us as we travel in our journey to get there! When we are in trouble we should RUN to Him (Psalm 46:1). The goal is to know Christ and become like Him!



The Light that is guiding the way is our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Psalm 27:1 says that "the Lord is my Light and my Salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the Stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" We should only seek to see as much as He makes clear and trust Him with the rest. If we are focused on knowing and becoming like Christ (and we keep our eye on that goal, as an athlete runs a race), He will take care of us in His time and in His perfect way.



Thank you, Lord, for speaking to my heart today. This is answered prayer.