9.30.23
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Sometimes you see things with a stunning clarity. You may not be able to put it into words, but everything makes sense to you. God, the Christian life, time and eternity come into focus and they are crystal clear. Even as Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in the glory of His blinding transfiguration, so the blinding light grants us greater vision.
At other times the fog rolls in and what was clear the week before is barely visible now. Many Christians are taken aback by this and become vulnerable to the idea that the confidence they had the week before is only illusory and not rooted in reality – that what was seen was not really seen. Jesus hanging on a cross on the Mount of Crucifixion shrouded in the noontime darkness is not the same Jesus as the One revealed in radiant glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. It seems like Crucifixion cancels Transfiguration and we are left in the dark.
I’m on the East Bay side of the San Francisco Bay and when you get to certain places, you can see San Francisco northwest across the Bay. Sometimes that view is stunning – the bridges and the bay and the city are a feast for the eyes. Sometimes the fog rolls in and San Francisco is shrouded in a blanket of mist – and it can’t be seen. I’ve never heard anyone cry out, “Oh no! San Francisco is gone!” No one doubts that San Francisco is still there though it can’t be seen. What was seen in the light carries more weight than what is concealed in darkness.
Even when San Francisco can’t be seen, people still make plans to go there. Even when the physical eye can’t pierce the shroud of darkness imposed by the cloud of mist, people still point their cars that way and step on the accelerator.
Psalm 97:2 says, “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him…” Though clouds and thick darkness sometimes veil Him, they don’t cancel Him. Though the God who has revealed Himself in brilliant light is sometimes veiled by clouds and thick darkness, He is still there. Though the fog can occasionally roll into your life, that’s no reason to cry out, “God is not here.” He is there as certain as San Francisco is there though it can’t be seen. You can still point your life in His direction. You can still point your prayers in His direction. Even as San Francisco hasn’t moved, God hasn’t moved.
A lot of people make a big deal about the absence of God in Jesus’ life when He cries out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And yet, just a little while later He cries out again, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Why would Jesus commit His spirit to a God who wasn’t there, to a Father who had abandoned Him?” The suffering Son knew that His loving Father had not abandoned Him. The darkness didn’t cancel Him. He gave His life and committed His spirit to His Father even though He was shrouded in darkness.
David writes in Psalm 39, “If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”
You serve an awesome God who, though you might not see Him, sees you. You can commit yourself and all the things of yourself to Him. Don’t doubt in the darkness what you’ve heard in the light. May the stunning clarity with which you have seen God sustain you when darkness hides His mighty face. He’s still there and if you point your life in His direction, you can’t help but meet with Him. The Transfigured Jesus is the Crucified Jesus is the Risen Jesus is the Exalted Jesus!
Be blessed and stay heathy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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