Surprised By Joy

Sometimes God just catches me by surprise. Right now I am sitting in my favorite hang out spot (CrossRoads Coffee), and I decided to do some school before bed. I reached into my backpack to get my textbook and I felt my Bible in there. That reminded me that I had not read my Bible yet today, so I decided to do that before school. After all, as a theology major my schooling is all about the Bible, so it only makes sense to actually read it, right?

So I opened up my Bible to 2nd Peter, which is the book that I have been studying recently, and I started reading. Near the end of the first chapter a verse caught my attention in a way that it never has before, and I was surprised–surprised by joy. (To all you C.S. Lewis fans: Yes, I am unashamedly ripping off one of his titles.)

The verse that caught my attention was verse 19, which says:

So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

I have read this verse many times before, but tonight I was reading from a different translation than the one that I normally use, and I really like the way it translates this verse; especially the part that says "as to a lamp shining in a dismal place."

Let me ask: What do you think of when you think of a dismal place? The first thing that comes to my mind is a gloomy Roman prison, since Peter spent a lot of time in places like that. The next thing that I thought of was being alone and lost in a dark, misty forest, with nothing but a small light, waiting for the Sun to rise so that I can find my way home again. I spent a lot of time camping in the Northern Woods when I lived in Maine, and I know what it’s like to have nothing but a small flashlight or campfire and to be surrounded by miles upon miles of empty forest. It’s simultaneously a beautiful experience and a humbling one.

But regardless of what you think of when you think of a dismal place, the imagery that Peter uses has the same effect. I think we all can think of a place spiritually and emotionally that is dismal, and we feel that we have just a small flicker of hope left in us as we patiently wait for Christ to deliver us. I don’t like to go outside the Word of God and speculate, but I wonder if Peter was remembering what it felt like to be a Jew waiting for the Messiah. The reason that I say that is because his words in verse 19–"a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts"–sounds a lot like the words of Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father), when he prophesied of Christ:

"Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us
to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Zechariah’s prophecy has always been my favorite prophecy about the Messiah because I just love the imagery. I love the idea of sitting in a dark place patiently waiting for the Sun to rise. It makes the Sun all that more beautiful when it comes.

But the Sun that Peter and Zechariah were talking about was not a physical Sun, but a spiritual Son–the Son of God. I don’t think that the imagery needs any explaining. However, going back to Peter, I do know that Peter knew what it was like to wait for the Messiah, not knowing when He would arrive. But then one day…the Son entered His life–the Dawn from on high visited Him.

I think that the message that Zechariah and Peter had about the Messiah still applies to us today. Our God is a God of hope; He is not One to forsake His sheep. We all spend times spiritually, emotionally, and physically in "dismal" places, but we can rest assured that our God never forsakes us.

Well, I would love to write more on this subject, but CrossRoads is closing, so I must bring this to a close. It’s probably good that I end it now, because I could write a novel about hope. Maybe I will one day. Until then, I pray that if you are in a dismal place then you will wait patiently on God. Rest assured, the Son will rise in your life 🙂