This Little Light of Mine...

People are afraid of many things; thats one thing I have learned in my psychology classes! The DSM-IV is full of phobias, ranging from the commonplace to the outlandish, though all painful to those who suffer from them. Wikipedia lists some interesting ones, such as Coulrophobia - fear of clowns, Musophobia - fear of mice or rats, and Nomophobia - the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. I know many people who suffer from that last one; they are the people in the next bathroom stall who are chatting away. Anyway....In speech class they taught us that most people fear public speaking more than death - I can relate. There is one fear that is older, one that is common to man - the fear of the dark. I think this is one we have all suffered from to some extent in one way or another. I was always afraid of the dark growing up. Its not really the dark I'm afraid of though; its the things in the dark that gets to me. Now I get up hours before the sun has even thought of stirring. I sit for hours in the pre-dawn dark, but it doesn't really bother me. Perhaps I have gotten more courageous, or more likely I have gotten soft in the head. Anyhow....I was reading a random selection from the Bible today, when I came across these verses in Issiah:

"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment."*

I have often done that, have often tried to light my own path only to find that the cheery glow is an illusion, and I sit entwined in shadow. In my years of running from the plans God had for me, (see Seasons of Life) I often tried to light the scary oblivion of my future with a dim hope from the feeble plans for my life I would create. I went through many of them, sometimes coming up with two or three a day. It took me years to learn that there are times in life when God wants you to sit patiently in the dark and wait for the dawn - in His time.

*Issiah 50:10-11