Thus Far the Lord Has Helped Me

“Thus far the Lord has helped me.”

As another year comes to a close, this truth still abides. It was true for the Israelites, delivered from the Philistines even while Samuel offered a lamb and cried out to God (1 Samuel 7). It will always hold true, since the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, who delivers me from my enemies, will intercede for me all of my days and reign forever as King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Rock that will never be shaken.

The Lord has helped me – there is no better way to describe this year. Or any given day. Or, I pray, my life. I am a jar of clay in order that God’s surpassing power may be known. The One who created out of nothing can surely heal my brokenness, and each year brings me closer to the Day when I will be fully, deeply, eternally whole. My failures have shown me that His faithfulness endures forever, that even when I stumble I cannot fall headlong. My successes have been evidence that His grace toward me is abundantly more than all I could ask or think. Continue Reading

Into Darkness Shines Everlasting Light

Among my favorite things about the Christmas season are the lights – hung on trees, fastened on light posts, strung on banisters and rooftops and storefronts. There is a quiet elegance to tiny bulbs illuminating chilly evenings and grey, winter landscapes. Anticipation fills the stillness, and as I drive home a gentle comfort whispers that perhaps the darkness is not quite so deep as usual tonight.

Even such small lights can bring hope. But the joy they proclaim comes and goes so quickly – soon Christmas will be over, we will grow tired of the decorations, and the lights will be put back in boxes where they will dance themselves into preposterous knots and inconceivable tangles over the next eleven months. Continue Reading