Over the past few weeks I have been struggling with the pressures of this world that seem to be coming from multiple directions. In trying to deal with them and keep myself on an even keel I’ve focused on my faith in Jesus and the hope of His promised blessings. But this weekend they got the better of me and that frustration came out and I overreacted in correcting my daughter. Yes, she needed the correction, but as it happened my reaction wasn’t about that moment in time. It was about all that other stuff that I was keeping bundled up inside, and she felt the brunt of it.

Because the Lord has a  way of healing things we worked it out. But this morning as I spent my quiet time with the Lord I was asking Him… How Come? I know you have given me the Spirit of Peace and Love but how come I let things overwhelm me when, in fact and in truth, I know the difference. He was quiet for a time as I just thought about my question and then He spoke ever so clearly.

Dim the lights.

My first thought was… They’re not on?

His response was the same… Dim the lights.

It was then that He reminded me of one of my favorite hymns as a young boy. The words of the refrain have been down inside somewhere all these years but I had forgotten them. And as I thought about it the Lord reminded me of what He has been teaching me these past few months about our relationship. It’s not about the gifts He’s given me or the service I give out of love or the praise and worship I offer Him or the time spent in prayer and in the Word. No, it’s only about one thing. One thing so simple and straightforward that even when I’m thinking about it I lose it’s simplicity.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

For weeks now the Lord has been trying to get me to “truly” understand something that I thought I had a pretty good grasp of. But in truth, while I’ve taught about it and preached about it, I realize that I have let the simplicity of it slip by. Oh, it’s simple to grasp the concept but “understanding” it is something else. I don’t mean “understanding” the meaning, I mean understanding the fact that it is the entire foundation of everything. It’s the entire key to dealing with everything this world can throw at us. It’s the simple truth that reaches down from heaven and just doesn’t “cover” our problems, it washes them away.

So, here I am, in my 50th year with the Lord, my year of Jubilee, and He has been taking me back over all the simple truths that I have somehow set up on a shelf somewhere in the back of my mind… Yeah I understand that. It’s easy to forget that God’s ways are higher than ours and His truths deeper than ours… even in the simple things.

Yes, when He told me to dim the lights this morning the words of Helen Lemmel’s refrain drifted through my mind and I just sat there amazed at how the Lord can just cut to the chase. Cut right through all the clutter that I allow to gather around me that filters out His voice. But how faithful He is to come down on a Monday morning in the quiet glow of the fireplace and remind me of the secret to dealing with all the issues of life, no matter how hard, difficult, perplexing or challenging they may be. It is a truth that we must think about constantly, hang onto with ferocity and cherish with all our heart. If we will, then all the rest will fall in place. If we will, our relationship with Jesus will be exactly where it needs to be. Yes, in a few words from my younger days the Lord reminded me of what I have treated too lightly.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Yes, it’s all about grace; His mercy and grace. When I remember that is why He went to the Cross for me, that His grace is available to me every moment of the day and night, then I’m able to deal with all those challenges life wants to throw my way. It’s His mercy and grace that fill the throne room in heaven and intercede for me day and night. It’s His grace that gives me the privilege of being His glory in my world.

And because I understand that I can… Dim the lights.