Psalm 18:28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
    my God turns my darkness into light.

This whole Psalm is a beautiful expression of appreciation for all that David recognized that God did for him. I was tempted to write on the verse after this, because it is the basis for a very catchy worship chorus, but this verse speaks to me most clearly at the moment. Everyone has dark times, and this speaks directly to that. In other places the Bible uses phrases like, “the light of midday,” but here it is much more modest, just speaking of a lamp. This isn’t some LED floodlight, just a simple olive oil lamp, but David is grateful. The next line (in the ESV) is what seems most poignant: “the Lord shines in my darkness.” David isn’t demanding that God “turn the night to day,” like is expressed elsewhere, but simply that there be some light in the pitch dark. The darker it is, the brighter even a small light seems. There are times when we simply couldn’t handle the light of God’s glory, but He gives us the light we need, if we will just recognize it. Our theme at this point is Light, so reading after reading speaks to this, but we need to recognize the light God provides and walk in it, no matter how dark everything around us seems to be.

It’s almost hard to remember at this point, but when I was a college student I got so depressed I seriously wanted to die, and attempted to do so. Right now, I’m an absolute optimist, with a rock-solid assurance that God is going to work everything out, but I’ve had my dark times, too. That helps me minister to others who are “in the dark” in one way or another. One lady in the church was in such severe clinical depression that she couldn’t leave her house for a couple of years, but I took her a CD of our service every week and prayed for her at her front door, and the Lord brought her through it magnificently. She later told me she never listened to the CDs, but the fact that I cared enough to come and pray for her was a flickering lamp, so to speak, in her otherwise pitch darkness. Since coming out of that she has grown magnificently, and now is a rock – and a bright light – to others who are going through dark times. I must remember that Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) I can’t generate that light in myself, but I must be available for Christ to shine through me, at all times and in all situations, drawing people to Him for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for the privilege of being a “fiber optic” for You, transmitting Your light to the people around me. May I fulfill that role faithfully, for the blessing of many and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!