I was in the Ozark “Mountains” over the weekend. I use quotes because I was born in the Rockies. So the Ozarks are mere hills. Nevertheless, they were still beautiful, especially to someone who lives in the flat lands of Memphis, Tennessee.
There are many pictures I wish I had taken, but I only took one.
Table Rock Lake, Branson, MO
It was an overcast morning when we drove to Table Rock Lake. The wind was whipping, trying to knock me over with its might. I muscled my way to the rocky shore. I scanned the horizon for the most picturesque shot. There seemed to be no way to capture the autumn leaves, the vast lake, and the mountains in one image. The wind blew my hair straight behind me. I raised my phone and snapped a careless picture.
We enjoyed the scenery for another minute or two before returning to our car. In the stillness and the shade of our vehicle, I was able to examine my shot. And I noticed something in the picture I hadn’t seen in reality. The sun broke through the thick clouds and illuminated the center of the lake.
I felt as if God Himself was parting the clouds and shining brilliantly through just to show Himself to me. Except He knew I couldn’t handle a direct vision of Him (Exodus 33:20), so He showed me only what I could handle – a bit of the light that radiates from Him.
Aside from being beautiful, the metaphors abounded.
It occurred to me that when it is a cloudy day, gray and heavy, the sun is still there, we just can’t see it. Similarly, when night comes and the sky is black, the sun doesn’t cease to exist, we just can’t see it.
I thought about life. Sometimes it feels like a cloudy day or a darkened night. We ache, we wrestle, we hurt, we break… and we look to the sky… we can’t see the Son, but He’s still there.
He doesn’t cease to exist when bad things happen or hard times linger longer than we’d like.
Jesus called Himself the light. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” (John 8:12).
The Son is the sun, whether the sky is clear or overcast, whether it’s day or night, whether you’re light or heavy-hearted.
And the promise from the Son stands. Whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
When the clouds come and dusk gives way to dark, follow Him and have light. Follow Jesus and possess Him. With Him, you are not alone, and the darkness will never overtake you (Isaiah 43:2).
Trackbacks/Pingbacks