“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14

I’ve walked through seasons of hardship and heaviness before, but this is a darkness I did not even know to fear. Governments are overwhelmed, stores are closing, schools are shutting their doors, and pandemonium surrounds us on every side.

We all have questions. How long will this last? How many more will be infected? Are the people that I love going to be okay? Is the world as we know it about to change beyond repair?

I wish I had the answers, but I don’t. Yet, here is what I do know.

It is here that our faith is tested. It is here that God is stripping us of our own clichés and asking us to reckon with what we truly believe about Him. We can proclaim that God is good when we are standing on the mountaintops, but can we whisper it with confidence in the deepest valleys? We can recite the verses about God being our ever-present help in times of trouble when things are going well, but do these words endure when the trouble comes?

I will be transparent with you. I haven’t been handling all of this very well. My natural temptation is to indulge and then run, inundating myself with the hourly updates and overdosing on breaking news and then numbing my fears with anything that will help me to forget just how terrified I am. There’s just one problem: numbing does not produce peace. Numbing a wound causes temporary relief, but over time it wears off and we are left to deal with our pain. It is time for us to press in, not embracing our fears, but rather allowing ourselves to feel them and presenting them to the only One who can bring peace. Peace that overrides all circumstances. Peace that endures through every heartache, every doubt and every pandemic. Peace that passes all understanding.

In this season of uncertainty, I invite you to press in. Press in to God and press in to others. We may be isolated and quarantined, but the Church doesn’t stop shining when the lights turn off. We have the light of Christ. You are a lighthouse, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Who needs the light you have? Who needs encouragement today? Who needs help?

Think of one name right now and do something. Send that text. Make that call. Drop off those groceries. Give that hug…er…well, maybe let’s put that one on hold for now. 🙂

Let’s keep shining, friends…even in the dark.