Into the Darkness

I love reading through the Old Testament of the bible.  It has taken many years of God shaping my heart to get me to this point of actually longing to read the first 39 books of His Word.  I used to hate it...  I found it dry, dark, violent, and cruel.  

But reading the Old Testament has dramatically broadened and deepened my view of the LORD.  I realize now, more than ever, that God is full of both grace AND truth (John 1:14).  Previous to delving into the Old Testament, I only wanted to see grace...  He has revealed to me the importance of truth and justice as well.  Moreover, He has shown me that to truly live in the Light, we need to be willing to acknowledge - and even enter into - the darkness.

Exodus chapter 20 describes the moment when the LORD revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.  Verse 18 presents an image of God's Presence on the mountain and Israel's reaction to this Presence:  "Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off..."

On the other hand, here is Moses's reaction in verse 21: "The people stood far off, while  Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was."

I'm also reading through the book of Acts, where Paul and other disciples of Christ intentionally put themselves into dangerous positions, knowing full well that: 1) They could be hurt or killed, but more importantly, 2) That's where God was and that's where He needed them to be at that moment.

All over the bible - Old Testament and New - we see people cowering in fear when the LORD reveals Himself to them.  This is partially good, because it's actually important to have a healthy fear of, and reverence to, God.  But I think that sometimes this fear goes too far and keeps us from entering into the places in which He is present.  I can't tell you how many times I have declined from participating in some activity because it was out of my comfort zone or dangerous.  There have been so many times in which I have said "no" before ever consulting the LORD to see if that's where He needed me to be at that particular time.

I believe that our Father is calling ALL of us into the darkness to bring Light.  Sure, this looks different for all of us.  For some, it means physically uprooting and moving into the darkest corners of the world.  For them, it may mean losing their lives to bring Him glory.  For others, it may be to reach out to a neighbor or co-worker, or doing something they normally wouldn't do but SHOULD do, because the God of the universe is calling them to do it.  

So are we going to be the people that cower at a distance, while some other "Moses" enters into the darkness where God is and wants us to be?  I won't lie to you - I may take this option sometimes, but I am vowing to pray for opportunities to enter in to this darkness and for the boldness of God in me to go when I am called.  Will you join me?