Women’s Connect January 2022 Devotional

Rachel Greene   -  

We pray you are encouraged by this powerful devotional by Allison Greenwald. May we fix our gaze on Jesus, our Light in the darkness, and be filled to overflowing with His light and hope!

Blessings,

Rachel Greene

 

I’ve been thinking about darkness during these dark days of winter. A group I’m had an opener question: how do you feel about physical darkness and how does it affect you? Such an interesting question! Stop and consider for a moment: How do YOU see darkness and how do you deal with it?

As a child I feared darkness; my farm chore at age ten was to bring the cows in from the pitch-black pasture for 5 AM milking, sometimes without a working flashlight! I feared wolves in the dark for some unknown reason :-/  Over time I grew comfortable with the soft darkness, and learned to find the cows by listening for the sound of them munching grass.

I’m struck by the theme of dark and light in the Bible.

  • Isaiah shared a promise: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2).
  • Zechariah made a prophesy about the Messiah: “ [He will] give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:77-79).
  • Jesus spoke to the crowd, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
  • The apostle John used a dark/light motif repeatedly in his gospel and letters: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5-10).

I find it comforting that the Bible acknowledges over and over again that this world and our realities can be quite dark and hopeless. Are you, like me, very aware of darkness right now in our world, our country, and our city? Our problems seem to be worsening and becoming more unsolvable and overwhelming. And then there’s the darkness I still have in my own heart. I’ve walked with God for fifty years, yet my self-centeredness and failures to love well persist. How can that be?!

January is a good time to stop and reflect upon darkness and open ourselves to God’s light. Ask yourself: What darkness are you facing? What dark fear is haunting you? The darkest part of our dark might be the fear of being forgotten and not mattering. We also fear being WRONG. We fear illness and death, especially during this pandemic. Judgement can create darkness and distance from others. We desperately want to not be alone in our darkness. Let’s acknowledge those fears and bring them to Jesus.

Another question to ponder in this new year is how can we be faithful in spite of the darkness? How can we watch for the light, not just the night? What has helped us walk in the light in 2021 and what practices or habits can help us walk in the light of the Lord in 2022?

Nature gives us powerful metaphors. The sun will rise today, whatever our darkness. We just have to wait. And watch. God is as faithful as the sun.

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you understand our darkness and grieve it with us. Please bring your light into the darkness that you’ve shown me in myself. Help me to know your comforting presence and trust that you SEE ME in the dark yet love me. Help me establish habits that help me walk in the light of your love, with hope. Through your spirit, help me reflect your light and love to others. Through your mercy, Amen.