God our Eternal Light!

By Helen Jesze, 14^th February 2020

“You, Lord, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light,”

2 Samuel 22, 29 NIV

David, the Psalmist, writes here that in every time of darkness in his life, God had been his Lamp, the Light to shine upon his way, turning defeat into victory. Running for his life from his persecutor, King Saul, hiding from enemies in caves and foreign cities, desperately clinging onto God’s promise that He would make him King, fighting great battles – there had been many times of darkness in David’s life. But because he had learned and continued to hold onto this truth, God had been the lamp which lit up his way.

Before the days of electricity, oil and later gas lamps were of the utmost importance, to give light during the hours of darkness. But just like David, in the lives of people like you and me, there are times when we walk in darkness and we need God as our Lamp. He is our ultimate Help and Light, but we often trust in people, ways of doing things, education, experience, human wisdom to light our path – and although they may be good for a while, ultimately some of these ‘lamps’ break or shatter. I once read the following poem by Wilhelmina Stitch:

“My lamp is shattered, I’m deprived of light;
My lamp is shattered, and so dark the night.
My lamp is shattered, yet to my glad sight – a star shines on.
My lamp is shattered, but a star shines on,
And by its glowing I can wend aright.
My lamp is shattered, but I still can fight – for a star shines on.
My lamp is shattered, sad indeed my plight.
My lamp is shattered, yet I’ll reach the height – for a star shines on!”

The shattered lamp had been man-made, but the star which gave this person light and caused them to still function – and not just function but to reach their goal – was God-made, and that made the difference!

Psalm 8, 3 tells us: “When I consider your heavens .. the moon and the stars which you have set in place…” NIV and

Genesis 1, 16b and 17: “He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky…”

Have you got some shattered ‘lamps’ in your life at the moment? I had a big one shattered a few months ago. Something I had trusted in was suddenly taken from me, and that area of my life was painful and dark. The situation was completely different than I had thought it to be. I had to press through in prayer, struggling at first, then coming to a fresh realisation that although this lamp was shattered, God was still my Lamp. Jesus was still the bright, Morning Star ( (Rev. 22, 16) in my life and He was set there, never to be moved. He would cause me to learn a new lesson and to come forth victorious.

A new reliance upon God and a new peace was born in my heart. My horizon had seemed full of clouds, but clouds pass and God’s stars still shine on!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that you are our Eternal Lamp! We give the shattered pieces of our earthly ‘lamps’ that we trusted in, to you – and put our trust in You in a new way, receiving fresh revelation as you shine in our hearts today! Amen.