It was a full moon. Perhaps one of the brightest that I had ever seen. With no streetlights nearby, the moon lit up the night’s sky and revealed its full beauty. When everything around is quiet and still, the moon remains bright to guide everything through the night.
A few nights ago, I was sitting on a camping chair on my driveway, looking at the stars and clouds above. The stars were bright, but many were hidden behind the jagged and random patterns that the clouds made. The clouds reflected an image of dry and cracked land, with light shining through.
Hidden
The night is a time of stillness, calmness and tranquility. Yet as the night goes on, the world rests, resets and prepares for the next day. At times, the moonlight shines brightly and fully, while at other times, the moon is hidden, leaving everything in darkness. When the clouds cover the moon, there is no longer a light to guide our path. From our perspective, the moon is hiding its face.
Perhaps it is not hiding; maybe we only cannot see it because of our view of the clouds.
The grey clouds covered most of the sky that night; sometimes our lives can also feel like this. Everyone experiences times when it feels like there is no light to guide you through difficult situations and the darkness prevents you from being able to see what is ahead.
The reality is that the moon does not leave when large clouds fill the sky; it is only hidden. Hidden, yet visible from another perspective.
Perspective
At times, it can feel like this with God. We know God is always there to guide us through the darkness, but perhaps it is difficult to see how He is working in that situation. Maybe it feels like God has slipped behind the grey clouds; only leaving slivers of lights on our path.
Sitting in my camping chair, the moon is not always in sight. However, something to notice is that the moon does not leave. Rather, our position in relation to the moon and clouds determine what we can see.
Sometimes we are in these dark situations and it feels like God has abandoned us; but this is never the case. When all we can see are the grey clouds, instead of staying in the same place that we are, we need to search for another place that allows us to see the moonlight clearly; to see God.
Getting up from our camping chair does not imply that God is a distant or hidden God. It demonstrates that circumstances in our lives change and that our relationship with God changes as we seek Him more and grow closer to Him. By shifting our perspective, we are able to keep our eyes set on Christ through every season and every storm.
Constant
“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
(Deuteronomy chapter 31, verse 8)
The context leading to this verse tells us of how Moses summoned Joshua to lead the men across to Jordan and into the nations as God commanded Moses not to. If I put myself in Joshua’s shoes, I think I would have felt quite unprepared and inadequate to lead these men instead of Moses.
Living for Christ may be frightening at times. Whether we are experiencing a difficult situation or perhaps God has called us into a place and a purpose that may be overwhelming and impossible to comprehend. No matter the situation, God promises that He will be there to guide us through it all. In fact, He walks through the storm right beside us.
Sitting in our camping chair, alone and in the darkness, is not the place that God desires for us to be. By putting in the effort to move forward and seek Him, we are able to see the fullness of His light that never fails.
The moon is always there, just as God is. It does not hide away when circumstances change and grey clouds cover the sky. For even in the darkest night, there is always a way to see the moon’s light.