Psalm 112:4

Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate and righteous.

I will never forget my visit to Ruby. She was dying and knew that her end was very near. It was late in the afternoon when I went to her cottage and daylight was fading, but my overwhelming memory of that visit is of her radiant smile. On paper, the situation seemed so sad and hopeless, but Ruby didn’t see it that way. She knew God as a friend and was looking to the future with genuine excitement because she knew that He could be trusted. For Ruby, the light still shone.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of meeting many people whose life circumstances looked dark and forbidding, but whose faith in God meant that they simply didn’t see it that way. I think of prisoners, people with disabilities, those who had been thrown out of their communities because of their Christian faith and others who, through no fault of their own, were facing financial ruin. In each of their lives, the light was shining. Humanly speaking, it was unrelieved darkness, but because of their faith in God, a brilliant light shone that nothing could extinguish.

This whole psalm is a wonderful description of the person who has centred their life on God. They are generous and kind and are able to live their life with confidence because of their faith. They don’t spend their time fearing bad news because “they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless” (Psalm 112:7-8). The psalmist doesn’t deny the reality of life’s problems and threats. He doesn’t for a moment suggest that there is no darkness in the world. His point is that the godly person is able to see the light shining whatever the circumstances, and who wouldn’t want to be like that?

Question

In whose life have you seen light shining in the darkness?

Prayer

Lord God, I thank You that Your light shines even in the darkest of situations. Amen