Written by Lysa TerKeurst and Joel Muddamalle, contemporary authors. This is an excerpt from their book “30 Days With Jesus.”
[In the wilderness] The Israelites saw the tangible presence of God leading and guiding them day and night. Even though the Israelites cried out in complaints and weariness from the journey that felt purposeless to them, God’s presence continued to guide them. Here is one of the challenges we face when experiencing unexpected pain and suffering: We can believe there is an underlying meaninglessness to what we’re facing. But through uncovering these details within the story of Israel in the wilderness, we see there is not a single moment of our hardship and hurt that is not used by God to bring forth a greater good and purpose. The question isn’t so much about the direction in which God is leading us — it’s about our obedience along the way…The pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night didn’t just lead God’s people; it also served as a protective boundary. The people always knew how far ahead they could go. This clear boundary gave them a visible marking of what too far would be. Too far would simply be to step in front of the pillar of cloud or fire, putting them outside or ahead of the presence of God and the pace of His leading… In the darkest moments of our life, when we feel unseen, disregarded, or abandoned, we can remember that …wherever the Light of Christ is, there is hope. This isn’t just a good-sounding Christian slogan. This is truth. And sometimes it’s helpful to speak this out loud over whatever you are facing. Remember, lies flee in the presence of truth, just like darkness flees in the presence of light… God’s presence never departed from the Israelites, and Jesus is with us even now. We pray today that you found yourself comforted and cared for even in the hardest place you could find yourself in.
Prayer:
Today’s prayer was written on the wall of the children’s home Mother Teresa (1910-1997) operated in Calcutta, India.
Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go. Flood our souls with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly, that our lives may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through us, and be so in us, that every person we should come in contact with may feel your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus. Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as you shine; so to shine as to be a light to others; the light, Jesus, will be all from you. None of it will be ours. It will be you shining on others through us. Let us thus praise you in the way you love best, by shining on those around us. Let us preach you without preaching: not by words, but by our example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what we do, the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear for you. Amen.
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