Laughing in the Dark. Daily Devotional, September 21, 2009

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 4, Ezekiel 17, Luke 13-14

Last night my husband and I laid our 1 year old son down to sleep in his crib. A few moments later we were in the kitchen and we heard what we thought was crying. We approached his door to find out what the noise was all about and realized what we heard was laughter. It is pitch black in his bedroom and he was laying in his crib laughing hysterically for about 15 minutes. We still do not understand what he was laughing about. Angels? The brush of his blanket against his foot? Was he spilling milk all over his face from his bottle? I do not know, but I do know that as an adult I don’t often find myself laughing in the dark.

In the dark, there isn’t much that looks funny or makes you joyful. Usually the dark promotes only the desire to go to sleep or be afraid. It seems to be the same with a dark season of life. We want to escape from our hardship or fear it...but we know as Christians, God wants us to take his hand and trust that he is leading us somewhere even when we can’t see it.

Isn’t this the essence of what distinguishes us from the world? That although we walk through the shadow of the valley of death we fear no evil because He is with us. Although we go through hardships and trials we still have the peace that surpasses understanding to guard our hearts and minds. That although we sit in pitch black not being able to see what is ahead of us, we can have a smile on our face and laughter in our belly knowing that God has it all in control.
　
Luke 13:10-12 "Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God."

There was no way this woman could raise herself up. During dark and difficult times, our pride would like us to continue to try and work it out on our own. We convince ourselves that we are strong enough to handle it and we don’t need God’s help or other people’s. Even though the woman didn’t ask to be healed, Jesus still called to her and laid his healing hands on her. It was then that she stood up and began to glorify God.

When you can’t raise yourself up in dark times, will you allow God to touch you and heal you? When doing it on your own doesn’t seem to be working, will you allow God to take your hand and lead you through the darkness? Will you experience the peace and joy that comes with his spirit that causes even a grown up to wonder why he finds himself laughing in the dark?

Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller

Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Chronicles 5, Eziekiel 18, Luke 15