NO DARKNESS AT ALL

"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5b).

It was early fall, around 2006. I was invited to go to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with my friend Michelle, most of the members of a small group I was leading, and the Esther Project girls (women enrolled in our residential drug and alcohol rehab program).  They were taking a mini-vacation and invited us to go along.  David and I had planned a trip shortly thereafter to a healing conference to have his vision prayed over and I had committed to a 50 day fast leading up to that trip.  I thought at first to bow out of the trip to the mountains with the girls, but the Lord told me to go and enjoy the days, give Him the evenings, and call David each night to pray for him over the phone.

So my daughter and I packed and headed off to Pigeon Forge. We were staying in a three story cabin a short drive out of town. It was absolutely breathtaking scenery. Mine and Abbey's room was on the top floor to the back of the cabin. We had a balcony off of our room that faced a gorge in the woods. It looked like the Abyss. At night, when you turned the lights out, if there were no lights on downstairs on the back porch, our room was pitch black.  You couldn't see a thing.

One evening, I went up to my room while everyone else was in the basement having fun.  I was trying to focus and worship, but I couldn't because I could hear the girls downstairs having so much fun.   But God had the best distraction planned for me!  Suddenly I the Holy Spirit impress me to turn the lamp off.  I was like, "Lord, it will be pitch dark in here!" The worship music I was playing was a bit mystical sounding so it suddenly seemed a little creepy to be in the dark.  Nevertheless, I got up and cut off the lamp.  There was no light coming under the bedroom door and the girls had the back porch lights off so the gorge was pitch black.  I actually had to feel my way to a rocking chair. I sat down and pulled a blanket over me for a sense of security. I just sat quietly...waiting.   I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face.  The Lord said, “Look right in front of you.”  Suddenly, a ball of light began to form right in front of me. It even lit up the room a bit. It was blue, orange, yellow, and red and looked like a ball of smoke. It was like having my own little Shekinah night light. Then it faded away.  The Lord said, "Did you know that darkness does not exist? It is merely an absence of light. In Me, there is absolutely no darkness at all. As long as I am with you, you will never be in the dark.  I will never leave you and I will never forsake you." It was a beautiful, life-changing experience.  Thinking back to that evening, and in light of praying for David’s blindness and his impending healing; it is even more meaningful since David’s disease blocks out the light from his eyes.

I was so thankful for such a special evening. During God’s little illustration, I had lost track of the sounds of the house, but as I turned the light back on, I began to once again hear the sounds of the girls laughing and having a great time. I didn't mind.  I smiled and prayed for them, thanking the Lord for making the time I had chosen to spend with Him so special.

When you serve the Lord with a whole-hearted devotion and acknowledge Him in your life, He will not disappoint you. How great is the God we serve, Who would send His own Son to die for us, Who would send the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us, and Who will never leave us alone, even in what seems to be dark times. He is awesome and I'm proud to call him Papa.

"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).