When the Lights Went Out .. but Didn't
I was at a meeting and as the afternoon wore on, the sky became darker and darker, and we could see that a very severe storm was coming in from the west. Not that it mattered - we were safe inside, the lights were on, and besides all that, the meeting room was pretty well sound-proof to all the thunder claps going on outside.
And then it happened! I am sure you have heard about the Big Bang theory. You know, the one that is supposed to have brought the world into existence? Some people will believe anything to avoid believing in the truth - that God made the world in six days. But I am getting side-tracked!
Well this was the big bang to end all big bangs! Here we were discussing important issues without a care in the world, when suddenly there was this BIG bang and we were plunged into complete darkness. The lightning strike had managed to put one of the transformers out of action, and so robbed a number of suburbs of their power.
However before we could blink an eyelid, the lights were back on again. Why? The school had an auxiliary power supply. Within seconds of losing power, we had lights; lights that reverted to internal power when everything else failed!
A man who felt like all the lights had gone out, was the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. Listen to how he describes a situation like that stormy day, when everything that could produce light, failed. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fail and the fields produce no crops..."
Now remember this is a farming area, and therefore what we have is a description of total disaster. But that’s not all. There is more! "...though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls." Yes, you’ve got it. We're dealing here with the total triumph of Murphy's Law . Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. Does that sound familiar at all? All the reasons for being happy seem to have failed. There was just nothing to hang onto. All hope had faded out. The lights of joy had gone out.
He was really struggling with events that he didn't understand. His book opens with him asking a question many of us have asked at one time or another, "How long, O Lord?" For him, all was darkness, but then his heart was totally changed by the end of the book. In Habakkuk 3:16 he says, "Yet I will wait patiently." Though all the external sources of joy have failed, Habakkuk concludes, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Saviour. The Sovereign Lord is my strength."
This man of God says, "I've found a source of joy that is totally independent of how things are going, totally independent of any circumstances. I am anchoring myself to the Sovereign Lord who is totally in charge, whether it looks like it or not...on my God who is my Saviour in this situation...on my Lord who literally is my strength to handle this hard time." What we are referring to here is a light that stays on when all the external power sources fail.
For many, peace and joy are looked for in material things. People are happy when they have plenty of friends. People have a certain amount of contentment as long as they have a good number of possessions. They will be satisfied as long as they have a good job.
As long as everything is going well - and there is nothing wrong with that - people can cope with life. When the lights are on - all is OK. But what about when the lights go off? A sickness suddenly appears on the horizon, dreams are smashed, a comfortable lifestyle is shattered - yes when the lights go out, will you be able to say as Habakkuk did: "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Saviour. The Sovereign Lord is my strength." Do you have a light that stays on, even when all the external power sources fail?
Habakkuk had put his faith and trust in the living God - the God of his salvation. That was the source of his light, when all the external power sources failed. Maybe those external power sources have not as yet failed you. But one thing is certain - they will. If not in this life, they will when they die.
Nothing will get you into heaven apart from Christ, the God of your salvation,. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 But the wonderful thing about Christ is this also: He is our light, our hope, our joy, our strength when all the external power supply fails. He is the Light that will guide you safely through no matter how awful, terrible, confusing and hopeless the situation may be, and then bring you safely into the Father’s everlasting presence.
So, if your joy is attached to your circumstances, when the storm knocks them out, you'll be in the dark. But if your joy is internally generated from an unshakable relationship with your awesome, sovereign Lord, then you have light that will be there when every other light fails. Grace and peace.....