Staying Connected When Life Goes Dark
As a missionary in the beautiful, yet often rainy and windy, country of Wales, I've become quite the expert at walking into rooms and flipping light switches that I know full well won't work. I've also mastered the art of trying to wash my hands with water that isn't flowing, followed by the classic "Oh, right!" moment of realization. It's amazing how many times in a single day a person can forget there's no power or water!
Last week's storm brought a special kind of challenge. Instead of one prolonged power outage (which I could have handled with dignity and grace... maybe), we experienced what I like to call the "disco light special" – power flickering on and off throughout the day. Each time the power returned, I'd dash around the house like a contestant on a game show, resetting clocks, checking the heating, and most importantly, coaxing our temperamental internet router back to life.
"Come on, little buddy, you can do it!" I'd encourage the router as its lights blinked in what I can only assume was confusion. Just when everything was finally reset and working properly – flicker! – and we'd start the whole process again. Even my terrier, Tess, seemed to be giving me pitying looks as I muttered under my breath during reset attempt number fifteen.
But as I sat in the intermittent darkness, alternating between laughing at my predicament and sighing in frustration, I couldn't help but think about how this experience mirrors our faith journey. Sometimes, our spiritual life feels just like these power flickers – moments of connection followed by disconnection, leaving us constantly trying to "reset" our relationship with God.
We experience spiritual outages in various forms: doubt creeping in, prayers feeling unanswered, or simply feeling distant from God. And just like my automatic response to flip light switches during a power cut, we often try to fix these spiritual disconnections in our own strength. We might attempt to reset our faith through sheer willpower, human wisdom, or by simply going through the motions, much like my futile attempts to use powerless appliances.
The book of James reminds us, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8, KJV). Unlike my unreliable power supply, God's presence never actually flickers or fails. When we feel disconnected, it's not because He's gone. It's because we need to intentionally draw near to Him.
The beautiful truth is that even in our spiritual "outages," God remains constant. As David wrote, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4, KJV). We don't need to reset our connection with God like a temperamental router. We just need to remember He's already there, waiting for us to acknowledge His presence.
So, the next time you find yourself in a spiritual flicker, remember that God's power never fails. Unlike my ongoing battle with the Welsh weather and its effects on our electricity, His light remains steady and true. And yes, I did just flip another light switch out of habit, but at least this time, it actually came on!