Speak (at Night)

"In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified."

Two words that stuck out to me were "at night". I sat and meditated on those two words because it made me think about my "nights"... not just literally but also emotionally. My "nights" when I am feeling lonely, hopeless, discouraged, weak and during times of fasts, hungry and empty. I have officially knighted those emotions as times of "nights" meaning "nights" can also come when then Sun is out and beaming. As depressing and mundane these nights may be, I thought about what that means for God's glory. Think about it! How much brighter did God's glory have to appear to the shepherds where. I bet they thought it was two in the afternoon! The great part about this is of course His glory can shine just as bright in our lives as well. How much more brighter God's glory will be to us during our nights. This doesn’t mean that we can’t weep when we mourn or “woe it’s me” during a heartbreak, because we are humans with human emotions, but we do have the ability to choose to see God’s glory in our times of mourning. Where we can truly feel the warmth of His love beaming on us and if we focus inwardly, you can hear His heartbeat instead of our own. Let's not even dig deeper on these words, with Jesus being our shepherd and we His flock... last I checked: He always keeps watch over us at night (which is probably one of the most comforting revelations I had with this scripture!) I remember one night specifically, I was having troubles sleeping because I was having a "night"... feeling lonely, thinking about guys in my life, feeling abandoned and rejected... my heart wanted to go there but instantly I rebuked it and prayed: "This is an "at night" situation, God show me your glory! Let me see you shine in this night." Before I knew it, the heaviness that was keeping me up left and I was able to drift off to sleep. Let us also take into consideration that Paul was in jail praying when he was set free...at midnight (Acts 16:16-40). So when you are fasting, when you grow hungry, when you feel empty, when you feel weak, though spiritually at night, TAKE HEART! God's glory can still shine through and press you onward! When you are feeling lonely, discouraged, hopeless, though at night, wonderful news! God's glory can still pierce through and bring LIGHT and LOVE all around you! I pray that as your nights come (and in this world, they will come), you choose light! Ask Him to reveal His glory, show Himself as He has countless times before! Amazingly, I now no longer fear the darkness of night, because as the Lord spoke Light (glory) into this world, I have finally realized we can speak His Light (glory) into ours. 

Remain Encouraged!

"For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5