[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: Picture this: Light

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Posted by The Night Writer:
Picture this: Light
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1200867567.shtml


   A little while back our pastor said during a service that we shouldn't
   just sing the words during Praise & Worship time, but be sensitive to
   the Spirit and open to insights that would come. I remember thinking
   at the time that that sounded like a reasonable approach but I didn't
   give it another thought as the week, maybe even two weeks, went on.
   Then it just started happening: we would be singing and one or two
   lines in a song would just seem to come alive within me, painting a
   picture or creating a deeper understanding.
   The first time it was kind of neat. The next week it happened with
   another song, which in turn reminded me of the week before. Then
   another week, another song, another picture. It kept happening, and
   sometimes I would share these pictures or revelations with the
   congregation and other times I'd keep it to myself and ponder it. What
   I also found happening, however, is that these images would fade as
   the week went on unless something specifically reminded me of them.
   Even then it could be just the sketchiest recollection; I'd remember
   the general sense of what I'd seen but not the quickening I felt when
   it first coalesced in my mind, kind of like having a dream and then
   trying to describe the next day over lunch.
   What I've decided to do, then, is to try and write these down as soon
   as I can and since I'm doing that I might as well post them here for
   whatever it's worth. Frankly, I don't know if this will help me
   remember or apply what I've seen, or if it will bring the whole thing
   to a halt. Or maybe it's what I've supposed to have been doing all
   along.
   Today in church we did something very different and didn't sing, but
   last week I had made special note of what I'd received and wrote it
   down and held onto it while I decided whether to start sharing these
   pictures. Here goes.
   "He wraps himself in light,
   and darkness tries to hide..."
   The song had many more lines than that but these two were what stopped
   me. I pictured what happens when a light is turned on in an empty
   room; immediately the darkness clears out, looking for a place to
   hide. It can only exist where there's something that blocks the light,
   so it goes to the corners as if trying to find a narrow space. If the
   room has boxes or furniture in it, though, it will "hide" on the other
   side of these, appearing as a shadow.
   Then I saw that the "room" is our lives and Jesus is the light that
   comes in, and the darkness tries to hide from Him. Great parts of the
   room are illuminated, but the shadows still exist behind the stuff in
   the room. Some of that stuff in my room are things that I've carried
   in there, and some stuff are things that others might have deposited.
   Regardless, there are things in my life that come between me and
   Jesus; though the room is lit and much brighter than before, certain
   things in my life have a dark side that doesn't want the light to come
   in. There are also parts of me that like being in that shadow, and
   don't want the light to come in.
   So. Can I let the light shine on me in these areas? The light is all
   around, it wants to be where I am. But it's cool in the shade and
   sometimes the light hurts my eyes so that I don't want to look at it.
   What do I do? If it's something I've brought in -- some comfy
   furniture, for example, or abstract art that I thought made me look
   sophisticated -- I should just carry it outside. If it's baggage that
   someone else has dropped I should carry that out as well, or if it's
   too heavy, at least step out from behind it. Perhaps I am like a
   chastened puppy, hiding under the couch.
   Can I, will I, crawl out?

     Psalm 89:15 "Blessed [is] the people that know the joyful sound:
     they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance."
     John 8:12 "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall
     not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
     Ephesians 5:8 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye]
     light in the Lord: walk as children of light..."