The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. Psalm 74:16 (NIV)
You own the day and the night. Sunlight and starlight call you Creator. Psalm 74:16 (Passion Translation)
I used to be afraid of the dark. Not just as a child, but long into adulthood. Early in our marriage, when my husband was on third shift, I used to lay on the floor in the darkness next to my daughter's crib or sit paralyzed on the couch until I heard his key in the door. And then I would run and jump into bed and pretend I was asleep. The dark was terrifying, full of unknown evils, threatening things I could not see. Bad things happened in the dark.
But, over time, and along with copious healing from the Lord, my husband changed all that. He took me by the hand and led me out into the darkness to see the stars and the rising moon, all peachy and breathtaking. He walked with me down deserted beaches where we could sit and watch the sun set and afterwards the twilight sky turn cobalt, then indigo. He pointed out to me the bright planets that first appeared and then the constellations. I caught his contagious delight at seeing a falling star. We watched moonlight on the waves and then walked back in the night without flashlights. We took walks in the woods by starlight and listened to owls calling and cicadas and peeper frogs vibrating the air.
And after a while, I realized something. The darkness is a cozy thing. Maybe it's because of my traumatized background and my introvert personality, but I have come to love standing in the pitch-dark woods or dunes, knowing no one can see us there but God. The darkness has become beautiful to me, with its own hidden treasures.
The darkness is where I rise, unable to sleep, to meet with God and receive revelation and comfort and rest in his Presence. The darkness is a quiet place, a be still and know place. It is a place of blessing, because God is there. And I have come to love the darkness that is owned by my Father and that cannot harm me. And I thank him for it with deep gratitude.
… the darkness is my closest friend. Psalm 88:18
Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. Psalm 139:12 (NASB)
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. Psalm 91:5-6
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
… the darkness is not dark to You
… I will fear no evil
Image, Moon Rising Over Moss Lake, John Brighenti https://flic.kr/p/MZfk5S
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