“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you.” —Isaiah60:2 (niv)
The golden glow of dawn crowned the mountain. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel of the pickup. A cloud of dust swirled behind the horse trailer as I barreled down the dirt road to the trail head. It’d been a long week at work. My income from my commission-sales job had plummeted because of the downturn in the economy. All the joy had drained out of me, and I viewed myself as a failure. I couldn’t wait to unload my horse for an all-day trail ride.
The road meandered through a gully. The truck chugged through the curve and up a steep hill. Suddenly, the sun popped over the mountain. It reflected off the dust on the windshield and blinded me with seven thousand pounds of horse trailer pushing me. Frantically, I grasped the steering wheel and floored the brakes. The truck and trailer skidded to a stop.
I leaned my head backward against the window. My heart pounded. For that fraction of a second I was blinded to the world. All I could see and think about was the light.
I sighed. That’s what I need to do. God is the Light. Quit feeding on thoughts of failure and focus on His Word.
I had lost my peace because I’d concentrated on the darkness of failure. But I hadn’t failed because I hadn’t quit. After my horseback ride, I found encouraging verses in the Bible and meditated on them daily. At work, I expanded in new directions. It wasn’t long before I was wrapped in God’s peace once again.
