A Light in the Darkness

I may have mentioned that my church has a devotional ministry. One of my poems went out today as the devotional for Saturday. I publish it here because I like to keep the poems all in one place.

The darkness surrounds us.
It threatens to smother us
As we battle against the strength of our own sin.
We find that we cannot win the battle
On our own power.
Despair coats the darkness
Like slippery oil.

And then a light appears.

My whole being shall exult in my God
For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.*

We center our whole being on the light.
Hope comes
The light seems to fight away the blackness
We are rescued.
We are saved.
We begin to believe that the impossible is true
And that we are not alone.

But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent his Son,
Born of a woman, born under the law
In order to redeem those who were under the law
So that we might receive adoption as children.**

Could the news be true?
Could the light be strong enough
To make our hope in grace
Truth?
As we focus on the light
We see that it grows and fills our spirits
We live in the light
The light lives in us.
And we are children of the Living God.

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels;
Praise him, all his host.
Young men and women alike
Old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord
For his name alone is exalted
His glory is above earth and heaven.***

Alleluia. Amen.

*Isaiah 61:10a
**Galatians 4:4-5
***Psalm 148:1-2, 12-13