“You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” 2 Samuel 22:29
I am fascinated with lighthouses. I’m not sure why exactly, but I always feel there is more to them than meets the eye. A lighthouse is mysterious, solid, lifesaving, and reliable, providing necessary illumination in the storm. And storms are inevitable…
I had the joy of being up close and personal with two lighthouses this year. The first was in the Caribbean when my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in beautiful St. Lucia. I was inexplicably drawn to this tower of light from the comfort of our resort, and in the early morning hours of my birthday, I jumped at the chance to hike up to take a closer look.
t was magnificent in its simplicity. Perched on a cliff, watching over the turquoise ocean, it stood guard with a stoic seInse of responsibility. It saved lives. I wondered about those lives.
The other lighthouse was Cape Meares in Oceanside, on the Oregon Coast. It was adorable- the shortest lighthouse you could imagine, but its placement high on the rocky cliff was perfect to illuminate the whole craggy area and warn seafarers of the treacherous coastline.
We had the opportunity to look around inside and climb up to the top- my overactive imagination was pulsating with possible stories I could create from this stocky little lighthouse, and I considered the true history of all who had worked in such a place. Such immense responsibility lay on their shoulders.
In the darkness, we are always at risk of falling into trouble unless someone is there to shed light on the situation. Illumination is essential, in both our physical and spiritual lives. Its definition is “a source of light, spiritual or intellectual enlightenment, clarification.” We all need a good dose of that.
As children, many of us cowered under bedcovers and clutched beloved teddy bears as lifelines, waiting for the darkness of night to be over and longing for the new light of dawn. For some, it’s not something we easily outgrow.
Our darkness may be depression, failure, sickness, indecision, loneliness, fear, or a thousand other black skies stretching before us in the night. Some storms seem utterly impenetrable… until we look up and see the Light.
God illuminates our path and stands firm as our refuge, better than any lighthouse imaginable. He literally saves lives- not just from stormy nights, but also from an eternity of darkness. We need a “lighthouse”, not only when our boat hits the rocks, but also to illuminate areas that need to change on our plain sailing days.
Our rock, our fortress, our light and deliverer.Oh, that we might open our eyes to His Light- mysterious, solid, life-saving- and allow the fear to be swallowed up into darkness…
“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?” Psalm 27:1
