A pair of weary travelers travel from Jerusalem to Emmaus in the dim haze of a first-century afternoon. Their hearts, heavy with grief and confusion, replay the nightmare of the past days: the brutal execution of their hoped-for Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, and the bewildering reports of a missing tomb. This is a story that is common to all of us, when faith falters and the divine seems distant. Example Devotion
1. Embracing the Shadows
Scripture: Psalm 139:11-12 (NIV)
“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
Reflection:
It’s a canvas for introspection, a place where the heart’s quiet truths emerge, where the mystery cloaks the mundane and whispers of the eternal that soothes the Gothic soul. Even so, Scripture reminds us that no darkness is too deep for God. He sees the corners of your soul, where you have doubts, fears, and unspoken longings. He doesn’t run away from your shadows, but embraces them and illuminates them with His love. Your life is like a tapestry, where God’s grace shines brightest against your struggles. This is just like darkness in the Gothic world view is beautiful because it contrasts with light. If you embrace the shadows, you’re trusting that God is there, weaving beauty from what you hide.
His light doesn’t erase your darkness, but transforms it, revealing His divine artistry, which makes all things shine in His eyes.
Meditation:
Find a dimly lit space, perhaps adorned with a single candle or the soft glow of moonlight. Sit quietly, letting the ambiance settle around you like a velvet curtain. Reflect on an area of your life shrouded in darkness, perhaps a fear, a grief, or a secret shame. Visualize God’s light gently piercing through, not to expose or judge but to envelop you in warmth. What does His presence feel like in this shadowed place? How does His gaze, which sees darkness as light, change your perception of this burden? Journal your thoughts or simply rest in this moment of divine encounter.
Prayer:
Jesus is both Lord of light and shadow. You see me in my deepest places, where I am most vulnerable. Thank You for loving me in my darkness, for recognizing beauty where I see only struggle. Illuminate my heart with Your grace, and help me trust that no shadow can hide me from Your love. Guide me to rest in Your presence, where night shines like day. Amen.
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