Remember me? Yeah, I’ll admit, it’s been a long gap between conversations. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to connect. Honestly, I have. The fact of the matter is life…just happened. Since the last time we spoke, I got a full-time job [that I love], I needed to settle into a new church, grieve the loss of my beloved chocolate Labrador, Rose, and move house not once, but twice. Yeah, like I said, life…happened.

Believe me, it’s only March and I’ve already considered finding a remote cave to hibernate in so that I can shut down and reset. And yet, through all the changes and challenges I discovered something new had been developing. Something was moving and simmering underneath the surface of the everyday mundane, here-we-go-again routine. A shift that could only be developed in the darkness until it was time to turn on the light. 

In Genesis 1:1-2 we read, ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep.’ [NKJV] I love how the story of creation begins at the point where it has no form, it’s void, and in complete darkness. Nothing was defined. Nothing was detailed. Another translation says, ‘At first the earth lacked shape and was empty, and a dark fog draped over the deep…’ [Genesis 1:2 TVT] Black, gloomy, dim. Certainly, a melancholy state that seemed rather grim. Nameless, formless, nothingness, except for its title of ‘earth’.

One synonym for namelessness is darkness. However, it was in the darkness, the namelessness, and the anonymity that God was busy preparing something of cosmic proportions. He was developing things in the darkness that could only burst into life and existence when four words from His mouth were uttered. ‘Let there be light’ [Genesis 1:3] and then everything changed, everything shifted, everything gained form, was validated, took shape, had purpose and above all else, it was lit up and illuminated.

It was the right moment for God to cease all His preparations, open His mouth and speak the words that set into motion the greatest story ever told, and it all started when God turned on the light.

Tell me dear friend, what has God developed in the darkness within you? Do you feel something moving and simmering underneath the surface of the everyday mundane, here-we-go-again routine, and then suddenly you feel His gentle nudge to turn on the light with what He’s been getting you ready for?

For me, over the past few months, something has been developing in the darkness. I knew I needed to write my third book, ‘Strength in Surrender’ and I knew I needed to find some space in my week to turn on the light in my writing and write what God had illuminated in my spirit months ago.  

I was always thinking about you, dear reader. The one who had experienced Jesus in the pages of my last two books and this thought alone encouraged me to be brave. Eventually, through a series of events, I asked my bosses if there was a way for me to reduce my hours, feeling the space would give me time to do what God had called me to do. Thankfully, I work with some incredible people and have good relationships with them. And so, along with the full support of my family, my full-time job turned into a part-time job (that I still love), and for that, I am forever grateful. 

To be honest, I could have decided to ignore the prompting of God and stay silent. Suppressing the words that were going to be my next blog post, my next book, my next whatever God had me speak into. And yet, that would do me no favours, or you, dear friend, for that matter.

What was moving and simmering underneath the surface of my writer’s imagination in the everyday mundane, here-we-go-again routine, could have so easily been pushed aside. If I wanted, I could have dismissed the gentle nudge from God for me to open my laptop and start writing once again, choosing the path of least resistance in my workdays, knowing I would be financially rewarded for my efforts. 

For the illumination of turning on the light can indeed bring us a sense of vulnerability, of feeling exposed, and bare. All the preparation in the darkness can cause us to stall, procrastinate and hesitate when God nudges us into the light because the not-so-bold ones of us kind of get used to living in the darkness, right? 

Where is God gently nudging you, dear friend? Where is He ready to turn on the light and illuminate the path that is going to lead you back to the secret place again, the place where you can hear His heartbeat? 

Perhaps like me, the call on your life hears the whisper of the blank pages calling your name and God is asking you to write for Him. Or maybe it is something completely different. But one thing stays true for all of us. When we sense the darkness, when we feel something is lacking shape and the void seems too hard, too scary, too impossible to cross, take heart, dear pilgrim, for turning on the light is to illuminate all those dark spaces of doubt, fear and worry, wondering whether God will send provision in our bold step forward. 

The thing is, to turn on the light exposes things that were once hidden by the darkness. 

And this thought alone helps me to be bold. It requires me to be brave. It causes me to embrace the radiance and splendour that God’s light brings and illuminates the next step in my calling. Now is not the time to shrink back and stay in the darkness, dear friend. For it is in the everyday mundane, here-we-go-again routine moments, God is preparing you for something. 

Turning on the light certainly causes us to feel exposed, bare, even, dare I say it – naked. It seems the illumination brings out the prism of every one of our insecurities, revealing all the colours in their glorious brilliance. But take heart, dear friend, for you are never left or forsaken in your journey. God is with you every step of the way and He covers you. 

Hear that? 

It’s worth repeating. He COVERS you. 

Perhaps the Psalmist can clarify this covering for you…

‘When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai,

You are hidden in the strength of God Most High.

He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me,

The only God for me, and my great confidence.’ Psalm 91:1-2

Be brave, make a small change that leads you toward the next step in your calling and turn on the light! 

Wendy xo 

What do you feel God has prepared you for in the everyday mundane, here-we-go-again routine moments that have felt like darkness? 

Where do you need to be brave and turn on the light, so it illuminates the next step of your journey?