Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16.

Reading in You Are The Beloved, by Henri Nouwen, this resonated so deeply with me: “Reflecting on my life, I saw how opaque it has been. I often did one thing while saying another, said one thing while thinking another, thought one thing while feeling another. I found many examples in which I had even lied to myself…How to go from this opaqueness to transparency? A transparent life is a life without moral ambiguities in which heart, mind, and gut are united in choosing for the light. I am discovering the importance of naming the darkness in me. By no longer calling the darkness anything else but darkness, the temptation to keep using it for my own selfish purposes gradually becomes less…A hard task is given to me – to call the darkness darkness, evil evil, and the demon demon. By remaining vague I can avoid commitment and drift along in the mainstream of our society. But Jesus does not allow me to stay there. He requires a clear choice for truth, light, and life. When I recognize my countless inner compromises, I may feel guilty and ashamed at first. But when this leads to repentance and a contrite heart, I will soon discover the immense love of God, who came to lead me out of the darkness into the light and who wants to make me into a transparent witness of His love.”

In our final chapter in this book, Ecclesiastes 12, Solomon advises, Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them” – before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the window grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; when people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire is no longer stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets. Remember Him – before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. v. 1-7. Solomon’s conclusion…Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. v. 13-14.

In any crisis – of fear, of faith, of doubt, of worry – none of it is meaningless. We cannot know what Creator God – Father…Son…Spirit…knows. We cannot know the beginning from the end; we just know the confusion between. There was a quote this morning in my devotional Jesus Today, by Sarah Young: “No other religion, no other, promises new bodies, hearts, and minds. Only in the gospel of Christ do hurting people find such incredible hope. Joni Eareckson Tada.” And on the next page…“God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:4-5 NKJV. One day Solomon and every person you know, and has ever been, will stand before God. There will be no more darkness or meaninglessness. There is great meaning in the hope and love and purpose of our God for us. We have all of us been hurt and have hurt others. Our very personal, loving God will be the one to wipe away every tear from every eye. Remember. He is so worthy to remember and trust for everything. In every crisis, He is our deepest need. Remember, the “god” who hurt you…is not Creator God.