You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light. 2 Samuel 22:29.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12 NKJV.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet these men and women of Scripture who loved Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, and trusted where He led them? Are our lives really so different from the lives of those who were living in Jeremiah’s day? In the notes to this chapter it said, “Society was deteriorating economically, politically, spiritually. Wars and captivity dominated the world scene. God’s word was deemed offensive.” So, in many ways, no different to today. Why do we think we know better than God? Our chapter, Jeremiah 2, is relevant to today. This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in Me, that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’” v. 4-6. What about the barren places of our souls that trust in everything but God? “Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But My people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with horror,” declares the Lord. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” v. 11-13. Do we stop to think about what God thinks about our choices? “Why do you bring charges against Me? You have all rebelled against Me,” declares the Lord. “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion. You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: ‘Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do My people say, “We are free to roam; we will come to You no more?’” “Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride forget her wedding ornaments? Yet My people have forgotten Me, days without number…Yet in spite of all this you say, ‘I am innocent; He is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them.” v. 29-32, 34-37.

With God’s help we can see a better way and it is always with Him. And until we choose life with Him, our eyes stay closed to Him, our ears can’t hear His words that bring life and hope and help to our hearts so in need of His healing love. Without God’s love, there can be no life. The more I see the pain and suffering and hurt in this world and in our hearts and minds, the more I long to understand the Cross of Christ. It means something crucial to our deeper understanding of God’s love. This morning in prayer, I thought about how diseased and withered and putrefied is Satan because of his hate for God and his pride in himself. That, too, is crucial to our understanding of ourselves and of this world steeped in the sway of the god of this world. Creator God will never lead us into darkness. He will be with us through the darkest darkness this world brings, and will He bring us into His light of His truth and His love if we but ask. His love will light our way forward with Him. Until Jesus returns, we will still walk in the darkness of this present world steeped in sins; but in the right now of our lives, we don’t ever have to walk alone. We can take His hand and know the warmth of His love for us…and with us…as we live lives choosing His love and His guidance. With Him, our eyes are opened to blessings we couldn’t see before. With Him our spirits are attuned to His gentle voice speaking within us that He is here always. Thank You, Lord, for so great a Love!