running in the dark ...

running in the dark is not ideal, but there are times that it is inevitable. there are, however, certain precautions one should take to make running in the dark as safe as possible.

don’t run alone. “two are better than one ... if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. but pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” (ecc 4:9-10)

if a companion is not an option, make sure that someone knows you’re out there so they can come looking for you if you don’t make it back in a reasonable amount of time.
“very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “everyone is looking for you!” (mark 1:35-37)

-> make sure that those you choose to come along or keep watch are up for the task.
“then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘sit here while i go over there and pray.’ he took peter and the two sons of zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled ... then he said to them ... ‘stay here and keep watch with me.’ going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed ... then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked peter. ‘watch and pray so that you will not fall.’ (matt 26:36-41)

set out with a goal in mind. know where you’re going, for how long, and don’t stop until you get there.
“i will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day i will reach my goal.” (luke 13:32)
“but i press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me ... forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, i press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me.” (phil 3:12-14)

run with a light. to have no source of illumination for your path would be foolish. here too, the light from two runners is far brighter than just one.
“but at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” (john 11:10)
“your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (psalm 119:105)

wear flashers and/or reflective gear. even - especially - in the dark, it is important for others to be able to see what you are, particularly when approaching from behind.
“so we who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord.” (2 corinthians 3:18)
“by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (john 13:35)

--> oncoming cars don’t shed any light on your path, but only light up what is behind you, making it even more difficult to see where you are going. cars coming from behind allow you to see a great deal more of the path before you.
“your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘this is the way; walk in it.’” (isaiah 30:21)

keep your focus on only the steps just before you, where your light casts its beam. do not look to the right or left, or off into into the distance.
“be strong and very courageous. be careful to obey all the law ... do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” (joshua 1:7)

if you don’t heed these guidelines and take a stumble, you’ll have to deal with varying degrees of scrapes and bruises. i have learned this the hard way, many times in real life, monday night on the road. they are painful reminders of what happens when you let darkness get the best of you. but pain, like darkness, in unavoidable ... even necessary. the key is how you handle it. will you learn from the pain? when the darkness returns, will you face it - embrace it - with strength and courage? if the heart is not laid bare in darkness, it will be swallowed up by it.

“yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. you will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. you will be secure, because there is hope.” (job 11:13-18)

busyness isn't betterness ...

I am currently doing Kay Arthur's Covenant Bible study. On day 3 of week 6, she talks about how the Israelites were supposed to construct a tabernacle according to the exact pattern and design that God showed them. They then were to build the Ark of the Covenant, and the mercy seat to go on top, which is where God would come to meet with and speak to them. As I read that, it occurred to me that if they did not follow His instructions exactly, then they would not have had a place in which God was willing to meet with them.

She also mentions how God would lead His people from a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. They could not move on from a place unless the pillar went first. To travel apart from the cloud or fire was to travel apart from the will, and the presence, of God.

Day 4 goes on to talk about the Davidic Covenant, focusing on 2 Samuel 7: 1-18. After years of war, the Lord finally gives David rest from the attacks of his enemies. David immediately comes up with a plan to fill his new-found free time by building a permanent house for the Ark of the Covenant. The prophet Nathan gives David his seal of approval, but then God says, “Hold up. I never asked anyone to do that.”

Why do we feel the need to come up with things to do for God? No matter how noble, we don’t need to fill our time doing things God never told us to do. Because he had a time of rest, David wanted to do something for God, but that was not David’s job. “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.” That is all that God required of David.

In fact, it was God who wanted to build a house for David (v. 11). When David realized this, he “went in and sat before the Lord.”

God was focused on all the things that He was going to do for David in the future, and simply wanted David to be in His presence. It’s okay for us to revel in the rest that God gives us … to simply enjoy His presence instead of always striving for bigger and better things.

As evidenced by Nathan’s response and the subsequent reproof, just because something is good doesn’t make it right. We need to know who we are and what we are called to, and stick to that. More than anything, God’s wants us to be in His presence now. But that requires careful attention to the instructions that He gives us, patience to not move ahead of His direction, and contentment to rest where He has placed us.