The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

Some of you may have heard this song before, especially if you're Switchfoot fans. I am. This song is off of their Nothing is Sound CD which came out near the end of last year. I have had it loaded on the ol' iPod for a while and I love listening to the CD itself. But the other day I was listening to this song a little closer than I have in the past. Can't tell you why, just was.

I love the title The Shadow Proves the Sunshine. What do you think when you read these words? Stop for just a moment and ponder the profundity (really big word for the profound/depth) of this statement. . .(Jeapordy music softly playing in the background) . . .Ok, so what did you come up with? Email me, I'd like to know.

Here's what hit me when I allowed the brain cell-lacking cerebrum of mine to ponder these words:

Valley experiencers, like myself, often feel like we are in the dark - the darkness of our spiritual journey. But I have come to realize one thing - if I'm in Christ, then I'm in the light. And if I'm in the light then I can't be in the darkness. Because darkness is the absence of light. Darkness does not overcome light.

So what do we experience when things seem dark, if in fact it's not darkness that we encounter? That's a great question. Let me see if I can shed some light on the matter (yes, pun intended - it's Monday morning so cut me some slack - only two cups of coffee so far).

When I first began this blog it was called Can't See Daylight - hence the URL (web address). I called it that because I was in a period of my life that I just couldn't see any "daylight" because of all the stuff I was going through - church stuff, ministry, Karen's situation, etc. Later I changed the name to In the Midst of the Valley because of the metaphor of a valley experience and some other stuff. Click on the link to find out more.

ANYWAY. . .all that to say that I never denied the presence of the light, I just couldn't see it. The light was always there - just beyond the shadows. You see, something got in the way of the light - circumstances, relationships, pain, suffering, loss. . .LIFE! Life got in the way of the light. Darkness didn't disspell the light it simply got in the way.

It's the same way shadows are created. An object gets in the way of the light and creates the shadow. It is because of the shadow that we know the light exists. Think about that for a moment. . .Can you have shadows in the dark? I think not. No way. Nope. Nadda. Can't happen. Soooo, the only way we can have shadows is in the light. Therefore, we know the light is still there, always has been, always will be.

And if you walk in the light - the light of Christ - you may, for a moment, walk in the shadows - stuff may get in the way of the light. Stuff like LIFE. But thank God for the shadows of life. It's the shadows that prove the light exists!

Yea God!



Mike

Encouraging Words

This morning I was lying in bed needing to get up and get the day started, but wanting to lie there snuggled under the covers with Ranger & Lucy (my cats, who were in no hurry to get up either). As I was contemplating the inner struggle as to what to do - get up or continue lying there - I asked God for a word today - something encouraging.

This morning when I checked my email - yes, I finally got up, made coffee, gave the dogs a snack, ate some breakfast, did some net surfing, blah, blah, blah - I received the following email from our daily prayer ministry:

When You Question God's Love

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38,39

What a truth to cling to when we begin to doubt God's love...because of the severity of our pain, the enormity of our loss, the incongruity of the situation. The essence of God's being is love--He never separates Himself from that.

Pray for tonight's "Merge" college service. Pray for Pastor Mike Shipp and the worship band as they lead. Pray for our church to have an effective outreach and ministry to college students.

First Baptist North Mobile exists ... To Love Christ and to Share His Love!

Now, let me say up front, I DO NOT QUESTION GOD'S LOVE FOR ME. However, it was not the title that encouraged me in the first place, but the verse and the brief devotional thought that accompanied it. Like I said, I don't doubt God's love for me, or his love for anyone else for that matter, but I do know what it's like to be in the midst of the valley and experience severity of pain, enormity of loss, and the incongruity of the situation. I do know, like many valley experiencers, what it's like to drop into the depths of despair and hurt beyond recognition.

Here's the encouraging part - no matter how much it hurts, no matter how deep the despair, no matter how far away God feels, God still loves us. None of that can separate us from God's love - even the deepest of valleys. We can never be out of the reach of His love. Why? Because He IS the essence of love, He can never do anything less than love us as only He can.

So. . .if today you need an encouraging word from God - may this be it. And may you feel His love in the most extraordinary of ways today!

Feelin' the Love,
Mike

All Alone

Ever feel like you're all alone in the midst of the valley?

Being alone is one of the greatest and most difficult lessons for me to learn. I have written before about how I hate, let me re-state that, I HATE being alone. It really hit me while I was working through some stuff last November surrounding Karen's death. Now, don't get me wrong. I love solitude. There are times when I don't want to be around anyone else. I either need some down time, so veggin' time, crash time, whatever you call it I need time away from people to recharge my batteries. That's why my time with God in the evenings and in the mornings is so improtant to me.

But being alone is not my idea, nor is it my choice. When I speak of being alone I mean coming home to an empty house and unable to share my day with someone. I mean getting in the car and not having someone on the other side. I mean not having someone to share life and dreams with.

When I say "not my choice" I mean I didn't choose to be alone. I didn't plan Karen's death, nor did I do anything to bring my loneliness to reality.

So what am I getting to? God has put me in a position of total and utter dependence upon Him. Everyone I have depended on in the last five or so years have been cut off from me. Friends, family, loved ones - all have been removed. It's not like I can't call or email them, but I can't sit down and share, seek counsel, live life over a cup of coffee, dinner, or a movie. For me, and I would guess for many other valley experiencers, dependency is related to proximity. I tend to rely more on others when I am in geographical proximity of them.

Now they're not around. I can't go sit and talk with them. I can, however, sit with God. He's always with me. He says He would never leave nor forsake me. He is as close as I am to Him.

So. . .as I take one lesson at a time, I am learning to depend upon God. It's difficult for someone like me who doesn't like to be alone. . .then again, I'm not. God is as close as a whisper. . .a thought.

Never Alone,
Mike

I'm Baaacckkk!

Ok. . .so it's been a while. . .I know, it's been a long while. Well, here's the scoop. Between hosting two conferences(Singles' Ten Towns Tour and Students' Warfare Weekend a.k.a. Disciple Now) on back-to-back weekends and still holding down the rest of my ministry responsibilities I've not had a lot of extra time. The time I did have was spent crashing at mi casa! I've also been learning some new lessons from the midst of the valley. Some things that weren't so obvious to me until recently. Some - to those of you who know me - will be more than obvious.

So! With all that, for what it's worth, behind us, let us get on to more pertinent matters.

I would like to begin with a lesson God recently brought to my attention while I was in, of all places, the shower. It seems He speaks to me there quite often. I mean let's just put it into perspective - showering and shaving are not things that require a lot of attention from my goofy, A.D.D. mind. Afterall, taking a shower has become pretty routine after 4?-something years, know what I mean? Because of the rather mundane process of showering and shaving this time provides me with the opportunity to focus on God. Now that you know the why's of God meeting with me in the shower let me share with you something He shared with me.

I start with this one because it is so profound. Here it is. . .

Focus on one lesson at a time!

How profound is that?! I don't know about you, but when I'm running through lessons like bananas through a baby my tendency is to keep going, head down, moving foward. I don't stop, I never stop, to LEARN the lesson; I just acknowledge it. And by the end of the day, week, month, or some length of time I haven't really learned anything. So what do I mean by LEARN? Glad you asked.

Learning is not limited to knowledge. Anyone can know stuff, but so what? Does knowing stuff make a difference in your life? Has memorizing football or baseball stats changed your life? Has collecting a cornucopia of trivial facts made a difference in your life? Knowledge is great to have, but what you do with it makes the real difference. It's about application. . .applying what you have learned is what makes the difference. I don't know about you, but it appears I'm not much on application, mainly because it takes time and my time is valuable, and my time is. . .yadda, yadda, yadda. . .blah, blah, blah! It seems to be the same ol' song and dance, doesn't it?

Additionally, many of you, like me, have head knowledge of lessons, but because we somehow associate head knowledge with spiritual growth we fool ourselves in believing that we are growing and maturing. NAY!, I say, NAY! (don't know what that was, just came to me :) ) Head knowledge doesn't mean growth. It just means that we have accumulated a lot of stuff we aren't using.

A-N-Y-W-A-Y. . .

Valley experiencers, let's just slow down a little and graze on the lessons that God is providing. I know I need to slow down and taste God and see that He is good. Don't get in a hurry to learn more than you need to right now. Lessons will come. . .they will always come. What you do with them is what will make the difference!

Grazin' on the Goodness,
Mike