Daily Light - March 1, 2011

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"I who speak to you am He."

John 4:26

"Who is this man? Nobody comes out to the well in the middle of the day, except me of course. I wonder if he has something to hide as well. Wait! He's a Jew. Oh, boy! Here it comes. Just keep your head down and don't make eye contact, and maybe he'll leave you alone." These must have been the thoughts going through the mind of this woman in John 4. She just came to get her water and go about her daily chores. The next thing she knew she was engaged in a conversation with a man that seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That is exactly how powerful God is! When we think He must have done something wrong, we find out that He was right all along. He meets us in the moments of our lives that we least expect Him. In the great trials of our lives when we were sure that God had abandoned us, we found that the calming hand on our shoulders was His. When we had been ridiculed and mocked by those we love and felt so all alone, we clearly heard His still small voice through the chaos of our lives. When our sin seemed to separate us from every one and we felt so ashamed, Jesus was sitting at the well offering us the water of life.

He was not immediately recognizable, because we could not see past ourselves. Sometimes it seems as if every one and every thing is a mirror reflecting our past and our failures. Our trials seem to swirl around us in a violent and chaotic storm. The debris of sin and suffering blows angrily and dangerously. We choose to isolate ourselves away from every one, even those we desperately love. We argue with the voice that tries to encourage us to press on, and we cry out for God wondering where He is. Then we recognize that encouraging voice as He says, "I who speak to you am He." At that moment we cry with joy, because we realize that all along He has been with us. He cared for us when we did not even care for ourselves. When all we could see was our ugliness, God saw His child. What a moment of joy when God says to you, "I AM."

May you hear that voice today!