The Lights that Blind

Do the lights of the world shut out Heaven's light for you?

As I walked in our neighborhood one evening, the streetlights had just come on and night was falling. I tried to look up several times at the heavens, but the lights from the street were still too bright. They overshadowed the stars that I knew were there. I felt disappointed. As I moved from the streetlights, I could see stars in places where there were none before. It was as though scales had been peeled from my eyes, and I now could clearly see the hand of God.

The light of this earth had temporarily blocked the light of Heaven.

I suspect you also marvel at God’s creation, and maybe this is how you worship best. Who doesn’t like a shooting star, or to see a lunar eclipse, or enjoy a fully formed rainbow?

With this backdrop, enjoy this poem to God.

The Lights that Blind

The lights of earth shine ever bright

The stars above lay faint

The day is loud and raucous still

An evening yet to paint

~

But as I pass the last streetlight

That glows down past the hill

I glanced above to see the stars

My sight was hazy still

~

With my walk now wrapped in dark

Streetlights mostly dim

My eyes now sense expanse above

Unveiling more of Him

~

My days seem like the lights below

So strong and brilliant still

Overwhelming all my heart

My soul thus has no fill

~

I must push back the blinding lights

For oh it steals my sight

To wander in the dark below

And sense His glorious height

~

At dawn my day comes forth now lit

The world no longer still

Yet in my soul a silence reigns

Now love can overspill.

Questions to Contemplate

Do you need to turn the lights off around you so you can see more of heaven?

What things might God want to address that block you from Him?

Do you want to encounter God in ways that are real and meaningful?