Strangely Dim
Most early Thursday mornings, Renee and I walk to a little old church in West End for Fallow Land. The one-hour time of prayer and reflection is run by our church (Antioch), but because we don’t yet have a church building, they use the West End Church for Fallow Land.
It’s a beautiful time of mostly quiet contemplation, some Bible reading, one or two thought-provoking prompts, and communion. This morning we meditated on Psalm 84. As we came toward the end of our time, God had highlighted three verses to me that spoke about the importance of spending time in His presence and in His house.
The church has many stained-glass windows, and the morning sun was shining brightly through one of the back windows. As I walked past, Bible open, the light streamed through the glass and onto my Bible.
I took the photo at the top of this post and converted it to black and white. What startled me most was how the background of the photo (the scratched wooden floor and some worn carpet) had completely disappeared.
The message was clear.
We have so many distractions in life that take our eyes off the things that really matter. But when the light of Christ (through the Holy Spirit) illuminates His Word, then in that moment, all the peripheral things fade away, and we’re left with divine clarity and sharp focus.
It reminded me of the chorus of a well-loved hymn…
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.”
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” (written by Helen Howarth Lemmel in 1922)
My encouragement to you today is that whatever is troubling you, whatever is consuming your thoughts with worry and concern, take a deliberate detour into a quiet place of prayer. Flip open your Bible and ask God to bring a revelation of His great love for you.
You’ll soon see that those temporal things that once shined so brightly will grow strangely dim.
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:2–3