When An Eclipse Strikes
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
This past Monday, many parts of North America came to a halt as a solar eclipse occurred.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, bringing complete darkness in the middle of what otherwise should have been a sunny day. It’s a phenomenon that gets our attention. Millions of people paused their days to view it. Some stayed home from work or school. Then there were those who travelled, hundreds, even thousands of miles just to be in its path.
We Can Face Moments of Eclipse
The world took notice when darkness was present when we should have seen nothing but light. It stopped us in our tracks, as it should. The good news of an eclipse is, it’s over quickly. We watch, knowing that while the darkness of the moon is drowning out the light of the sun, it won’t be long before the light comes back again. But in our own lives we can face moments of eclipse, times when the things we go through seem to bring darkness into our lives, overshadowing us and we are left stumbling, not knowing when the darkness will pass. There is no tidy timeline to spiritual eclipses, like there is in solar eclipses. Instead we are left not knowing how much longer the darkness will be present in our everyday lives.
These moments of darkness take on many forms. Doubts. Fear. Depression. Anxiety. Loneliness. Sickness. Pain. And while as residents of planet earth, these moments of darkness can seem all-encompassing with no end in sight, we are forgetting something in those moments of darkness: just because the circumstances we find ourselves in seem to hide the light like a moon does in an eclipse, the Son is still there and He is shining as bright as ever. No eclipse extinguishes the sun, it’s still burning brightly even when the moon covers it from our view And no circumstances we can ever face in this life can extinguish Jesus, the light of the World, even when we are having a hard time spotting Him at work in our circumstances. Listen to how Jesus is described in John chapter 1, starting at verse 4:
"The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." John 1:4-5 NLT
Nothing we face on this earth can extinguish His light. It is still shining, even if we are having a hard time seeing it in the midst of our seasons of darkness.
Choosing Trust In The Darkness
When watching the eclipse, we didn’t freak out when the sun disappeared because we had full confidence, based on other eclipses in history, that the light of the sun was still there and it would return the second the moon passed it by. In the same way, when the darkness creeps into our lives, it isn’t time to panic thinking this is just the way our lives are going to be from here on out. No, instead of panicking, we need to trust, based on our life experiences and the testimonies of hundreds of thousands of other believers, that Jesus the Light of the World is still there and He has no intention of leaving us alone in the darkness that our circumstances can bring. The same God who came from heaven to earth to bring us light, isn’t asleep at the wheel or unaware of what you are going through. Remind yourself, as the psalmist did in Psalm 27:
"The LORD is my light and my salvation- so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?" Psalm 27:1 NLT
Reach Out
And if you are still having a hard time in the dark, reach out. If any of us thought that the sun flamed out on Monday when it went dark in the middle of the afternoon, all it took was a phone call to anyone outside of the path of totality to confirm that wasn’t the case. Even when we were seeing darkness, they could still see the light. In the same way, when the shadows cast in our direction, our friends and family in Christ can remind us of the truth of who He is and can encourage us in our faith as we wait for the lights to come back on.
And it will come back on. The sun is still shining and the Son, Jesus Christ, is still the light of the world even if we face darkness in our lives. Rest in that truth today no matter what you are going through.
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