Night Ride

In an effort to be more “green” I decided to ride my bike to work for a few weeks. It's a quick three-mile ride and the summer evenings are warm. I am familiar with the route, by day, but coming home at night is a little different. The gentle curves of the road without lighting present a completely different view. It's impossible to see potential hazards in the bike lane, even with my small headlight.

One night, a beautiful full moon lit the sky as I was on my way home. It was in that moment the Lord reminded me of some things. Darkness is a big thing to the Lord. It is something that He never wanted us to be overcome by. At creation, God gave us the sun to light the day and the moon to light the night. The Lord Jesus said “those who follow me will never walk in darkness.” John 8:12. David wrote, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105.

So what is the deal with darkness. You can't see the road ahead or possible obstacles that could be harmful. Pits and traps are hidden in darkness. Those who want to do evil try to hide in to cover of darkness. Light represents the truth of God's presence with us and darkness represents ignorance of those who refuse to believe God's Word. Trusting God's Word shines brightly if we listen and if we do as He instructs we can avoid many problems.

Darkness has a special purpose too. At night is when all life rests. Our body clock tells us it's time to sleep. Birds return to their nests, Foxes return to their dens, even plants rejuvenate under to cover of darkness. During the period of sleep all our defenses are down, we are at our most vulnerable. It takes faith in the security of our shelter that will allow us to close our eyes and relax. Whether or not we understand this, it is God's design that we can rest, but more than that it is an act of faith to rest in Him.

It is our choice to place faith in God's promises to guide us on life's journey. We can't see the future, but we can know how to get to our destination. Placing our trust in Him we can rest and allowing Him to navigate us through the obstacles, around the pits and avoiding the traps of the evil found in this world and bring us safely to our destination.