The Mystery of the Lion

“…for now we see through a glass, darkly…” 1 Cor 13:12 KJV

This morning when I got up I came downstairs and began looking for my glasses.  Bruce had gone to get them last night but couldn’t find them.  I knew that before anything could happen I had to search for them.  Otherwise, I would miss out on my time in the Word.  I love cracking open my study and Bible each morning.  Mainly, because I lack so much, and it contains all the provisions of hidden treasures I need each day.  I began looking the places I usually leave them…the usual suspects…but to no avail. I remembered that I had a pair of sunglasses with readers in them.  I put them on and the sharpness was improved but the light had gone.  I decided to try Bruce’s five-year-old progressive ones that he seldom uses since he has contacts.  Everything seemed so distorted at first but eventually I got used to it.  Neither pair gave me everything I needed, but separately had a little benefit.

This is how it is when we walk with our eyes focused on the things of this world.  We search for things that we feel we lack, and we grab sorry substitutes which benefit us in part, but not fully.  We become comfortable with things that we should not.  We change our views based on the world’s opinions.  Christ came into the world to become that beautiful vision of light and life.  He left the perfect home of heaven and stepped down into a dark world.  Light walked around in dark so in our darkness we could find our way eventually to Light.  In Christ there is a mystery where treasures are hidden, and discovery is our pleasure.  In my darkest times, those times when my vision was limited, I have found hidden blessings unlike anything I ever found in calm times.  ‘The dark stretches on our journey may be unwelcome, but they offer wide-open space for trust…They mystery is part of what we love.  The mystery is what we crave.  It is part of what has kept some of us studying the same text and seeking the same God for decades.  The very fact we can’t figure it all out is one reason we’re still here.  We long for exactly what we’ve got:  a Lion we can’t tame but can trust.’ The Quest, Beth Moore, p. 170.

If we will only trust God in our dark times and keep our eyes peeled for the treasures that can only be found in the dark.  If dark is really light to Him as the Bible states that we must always search for Him for our vision.  We must reach for Him for the light and the sharpness of His message.  When we do, we will receive so much more than we could ever imagine.  We don’t have to be scared of the dark because in the darkness He shows Himself as light.

“I will give you the treasures of darkness, and riches from secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord.” Isaiah 45:3.