A Light in Darkness

Have you ever been in darkness so deep that you could not even imagine what light would look like? Or been so far underwater your lungs burned and still you could not see the surface? Have you ever been in fire so hot that you could not remember a cool drink of water? Or sadness so intense you could not believe in happiness?

Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; don’t be deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger…

Psalm 39:12

We live in a fallen world. Not just that I am fallen, that I have sinned. We are fallen. All of us. Even nature was cursed at the fall. Because of that, illness exists. Cancer. Ebola. Depression. Mental Illness. The common cold. Uncommon super bacteria.

You are God, my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Psalm 43:2

David understood. He knew oppression and depression. He understood the dark night of the soul. He knew what despair felt like, and to our benefit, he wrote about. We don’t ever need to feel alone. I think that he and Robin Williams would have been good friends. They would have a shared experience.

So, why does the church turn a blind eye to mental illness? We take dinner to those recovering from surgeries and do what we can to support those fighting cancer. We turn our heads and pretend the schizophrenic doesn’t exist. Depression is seen as a spiritual deficiency. Not all of us, of course, but as a church we’re okay with the fighting of addictions but rarely mention mental illness.

The church needs to reach out to those who are broken, regardless of how we are broken. There is no shame in admitting we are wounded and need healing.

It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, “I desire compassion and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matt. 9:12-13

The church, the body of the Great Physician, is called to compassion. We are to follow the example of the Good Samaritan and reach down to heal the wounded. Just as it was not the fault of the man who had been robbed that he was wounded, so the dark is not the fault of the one who is lost in it. We need to reach out and help the sick rejoice because there is a Doctor in the house.

We were all shocked by the death of Robin Williams this week. The thought of a man who brought so many so much laughter being unable to find any reason to keep living is incredibly sad. There is hope in Jesus. There is hope in Jesus alone. As the arms of Jesus, we need to reach out. We need to stop condemning the sick, and help them find healing. We need to share hope.

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor. 4:6

Travel Alarms

            Several years ago, a good friend was going through a nasty divorce. She was depressed and angry. My marriage stunk and then my husband left me. I was depressed and angry. We would get together and talk about our current obsession, Celtic Thunder (and Irish man-band, don’t judge!) and dream of taking a trip to Ireland.

            Ireland seems like a magic place. All the men are handsome, and when they talk, they sound like they sing everything they say. It’s always green, the people are kind and they like potatoes. What could be better?

            I was in the Eddie Bauer Outlet one day when I came upon a cute little travel tool. It had a flashlight, an emergency strobe light, and a travel clock with alarm. You would twist the top and it would show the time of the city you chose. I bought two, set the city for Dublin, and gave one to my friend. It was a symbol of hope. Someday, life would be better, and we would go to Ireland. We would use our travel clocks!

            Somehow, the alarm on mine got set for 10:00. I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off! Eventually it got annoying so I stuck it in a cupboard under a pile of towels. This morning as I stood in my bathroom putting on my makeup, that alarm went off. Apparently its been going off every day for the past three or four years. Immediately a flood of emotions hit me between my half-mascaraed eyes. Longing for a place I’d never seen. Sadness for a friend who has since moved far away. Hope that things would someday be better. Humor, laughing at an alarm that has been set for a time that means nothing, and isn’t needed.

            And yet it was needed. I’m at a bit of a low place right now. I needed to be reminded of my friend, who loves me. I needed to be reminded of that hope that things will someday be better. I needed to be reminded of a Friend who loves me, and of that place far away that I view with longing.

           

            “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and I therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:19-23

In the midst of the stuff of life, we have hope. God has not forgotten us. He are not consumed.

            We all need travel alarms, those little insignificant items that remind us of God’s faithfulness, of his love for us, and of the beautiful place that awaits us. I have a longing for a place I have never seen, but is my home.

           

            “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Philippians 3:20-21

            My travel alarm is now sitting out on my kitchen windowsill, reminding me of the good that God intends for me. What reminds you of the goodness of God? What brings your flagging spirit hope? Hold on to those things. Put them where you can see them. Practice smiling at them, and be grateful that God is present.