Who Turned off the Lights? Devotions from the Psalms (27:1)
"The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The LORD is the
stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1 NIV)
The sun was just setting when it happened: The electricity suddenly gave up
life, leaving us, as well as everyone in our neighborhood, in the dark.
Literally. One moment we were surrounded by the splendors of artificial light,
the next we were plunged into the murky gloom of dusk, which rapidly faded into
total and complete darkness.
Who do we call in such circumstances? The electric company, naturally. But how
can we call them? The phones these days are all connected with electricity!
Unless you have a cell phone, that is, though sometimes you have to wrench them
out of the hands of your teens, who seem to think they are some sort of a
typewriter …
I did finally get through to the electric company, but their response wasn't
encouraging:
"There is a line down in your area. Someone will soon be dispatched to look at
it, if they haven't been dispatched already."
"How long will it take?"
"I'm sorry sir. There is no way to tell."
That thought alone is scary enough!
It's strange the noises we perceive when surrounded by darkness, perfect fuel
for our vivid imaginations. Our familiar home suddenly turned into-a haunted
house! I had never heard our stairs creak the way they did that night! Was there
someone else in the house? And my ceiling was groaning as well! Oh no! And it
didn't help that we kept bumping into each other. Choruses of "Sorry! I didn't
know you were there!" Rang through the evening.
And of course there were the practical problems to resolve . . . How would we
ever get out of the garage without electricity? The automatic garage door
openers run on electricity! How will we be able to feed the family when the
stove doesn't work! And what am I supposed to do with this meowing cat? I am
tired of her clinging to my leg, begging for food!
That's when we realize that we are truly blind. Is it even the cat that's
clinging to my leg? We can't even think of fixing dinner without light! And how
can we even go in search of a flashlight?
"I need to study. I have homework for tomorrow!" Resounded a voice from the
other side of the room. It sounded like my youngest son's voice. It would be
like him to say this, for he thinks you can't study without a computer. But it
could be anyone, so who knows?
In such moments we could be totally afraid, but in all reality, we found a way
out of the garage, thanks to our McIver-sort-of son. We drove back into a
section of town that still had electricity, and stood in line with all of our
neighbors at a local sandwich store. And we eventually succeeded in locating a
flashlight and a candle!
But we were still limited as to what we could truly accomplish. My son drove
back into town shortly after that, to his grandmother's house, presumably to
study, and my wife took a shower in the dark. As for me? I decided to not waste
my time! I curled up on my favorite chair with my battery-operated I-Pod and
spent some quiet time lifting my Maker up in praise and worship. Time flew by so
fast! There was no time for fear! There was no time of boredom! In fact, when
the lights came back on four hours later, I was still delighting in the love of
the Father, and I was a bit saddened that we were back into the grind of life!
Who do we turn to when we are surrounded by the utter darkness of our dire
circumstances? Only God's love can shine through, and shine it does! With His
presence in our midst, fear is a thing of the past!
Can someone feed that meowing cat? I'm tired of her clinging to my leg!
Rob Chaffart