The Light of God

When God began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was a shapeless chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors.

Then God said, "Let there be light." And light appeared. And God was pleased with it, and divided the light from the darkness "nighttime." Together they formed the first day. Genesis 1: 1-5 (TLB)

You can never please God without faith, without depending on him. Anyone who wants to come to God must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely look for him. Hebrews 11:6 (TLB)

Erasme Figaro, from the Dominican Republic, oversees a church program that teaches people the art of solar cooking. On one memorable mission trip, they were scheduled to leave early in the morning because the mission site was far from where they spent the night. It had rained quite a bit the previous night. Their spirits were low as they worried about having enough sunlight to teach properly that day.

Early in the morning as Erasme walked to the main road to guide their driver back to where the rest of the group was waiting, she noticed a woman spreading clean laundry out to dry. The faith of that woman buoyed Erasme's spirit and inspired hope. She could not know for certain that the sun would shine to dry her laundry, but her action reminded Erasme of Hebrews 11:1: "Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

There will be times when it feels like it has been raining all night, that daylight will never come, and the sun will not shine. But we can turn to our faith and the words of scripture for reassurance that no matter how long and dark the night has been, the sun will shine again.

Prayer: Eternal God, when our hopes are low, give us courage to persevere and faith to trust in the light of your love, in Jesus' name. Amen.