Light at the End of the Tunnel

On our journey today, as we look at words of encouragement, we are going to see if we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  That’s what gives us hope in dark or hard times. That light guides us during storms.

This past Easter weekend was a very uplifting reminder of the light that Christ brought to our lives. He is more than just a light at the end of the tunnel.

Romans 5:8  TPT

But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!

We could reword that last part to say, “while we were in the dark.”

On a Collision Course

This is the transcript of a radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations 10-10-95 (considered an Urban Legend and no confirmation of such event…but still a great story).

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers, and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that’s one-five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

• Mikkelson, Barbara (March 18, 2008). “The Obstinate Lighthouse”. Snopes.com. Retrieved September 17, 2011.

The Pacific Coast

Carmen and I got the chance to travel a bit of the Pacific Coast Highway a few years back.  What you see is just a sample of her many pictures of one particular lighthouse. One among many other great pictures she snapped on that trip.

Lighthouses are not as popular anymore.  I may be off on this, but it’s probably because of the high-tech navigation systems that ships have now. Even your everyday-kind-of-life boats (not to be confused with lifeboats), as technology goes, have trickled down to the common boaters.

Our Onboard Navigation System

This reminds me of how God operated in the Old Testament.  He was that beacon of light shining down from above, and many times shining His light through Prophets to guide His people.  Now Jesus has brought God down to our everyday lives, alive through His Spirit in us.  He used to be out on the rock (His foundation) as a lighthouse, showing the way.  Now it is a high-tech onboard system, with Him living in us and guiding us from within and leading us in our every-day-walking-around-kind-of-life.

John 8:12  ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Don’t let the darkness block the light (Jesus) out of your life.  That darkness could be the pride of life that some carry in their life. Like the greatness of the US Navy ship refusing to submit to the light. Many have turned Jesus simply into a lifeboat, hoping He can bail them out of trouble.

Matthew 5:14-15  ESV

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Challenge of the Week: 

Get the light.  Walk in the Light.  Be the Light.  Morning, noon, and most importantly…in the dark.  So be it!