I finished last week feeling blind-sided and wounded. And unlike a 30 minute sitcom, or a one hour drama, there’s been no miraculous resolution. The music isn’t swelling as tears of laughter and joy run down our cheeks. Not yet.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any music.
Last week, I debated over several “Friday tunes”. Today’s was a close second. I liked the concept long before the phone began to ring last week.
Skillet‘s song, Terrify the Dark, begins with “No power on Earth, no power in Hell is gonna steal my peace”. But peace can be elusive when you feel threatened, overwhelmed, terrified. When suddenly you’re facing the unknown and you feel completely unprepared and oh so very small. Fear squeezes the breath from your lungs. It toys with your emotions. It wakes you up in the middle of the night and clomps around in army boots. Fear is greater when it seems darkest. So we have a choice: to cower in fear in a corner, or to expose it to light.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
I always had a nightlight. I was an imaginative kid, and the craziest things used to terrify me. I was scared of raccoons. I was scared of demon-possessed cars that wanted to crash through our front window and drive up the stairs to kill me. I was banned from watching Dr. Who. For awhile, I even believed something lived in the cellar of our enclosed back porch. Our only bathroom was downstairs off the kitchen. So was the back porch. I would lie awake at night waiting for the furnace to run so the sound would cover my footsteps and I could pee undetected. I had terrible dreams too, and I would lie awake for hours waiting for the sun to rise. As soon as the room began to lighten, I felt safe and I would drop right off.
Your light will terrify the dark, I call upon the name
That tears another part
My doubt will answer to your scars, and fear will have no place
No hold upon my heart
I still have terrible dreams, but I can more easily dismiss them and go back to sleep. I don’t use a nightlight anymore. The fears, though, they can still steal my breath at times and wake me up at night. But when they do, I pray. I can’t hasten a happy ending in our current circumstances, but I choose not to let any power, including fear, steal my peace or hold my heart. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12). He will be my comforter and my defender. Not only will He expose the darkness that has no place in my life, He will terrify it. And that thought makes me smile!
Keep smiling & have a great weekend!
Terrify the Dark, John Cooper / Korey Cooper / Mia Fieldes / Seth Mosley © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
