A Porthole Promise
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. Malachi 4:2 NIV
I‘ve had some tough times lately.
Details aren’t needed, nor the sympathy mat.
But days have been tough.
Some of your’s—wayyy tougher than mine, so I barely have room to complain.
But I think God gave me something the other day, to hold on to during this time.
As I left my kitchen, I passed by the front door. Obviously I’ve done this a gazillion times in our house without ever having a moment. But on this day, it was different. It made me turn around in full stride and come back.
You see we have a porthole window in our older front door. And through that porthole, a stream of the brightest morning sunlight you’ve ever seen was flooding through. And there was a thickness to the light. Maybe it’s because I have 5’ of dust on everything in the house, or maybe it’s because I was moving the air particles, but that light was as thick as molasses. I just stood there and was amazed by it.
Then God showed up in my heart. Loud and clear!
I felt the words course through my heart and mind, telling me:
“I’m here. I’m the light that’s shining through. I’m just on the other side of the door of life. I’m grander than this sunlight. I’m more powerful than the sun. My love reaches as far as this sunlight can. My brilliance is immeasurable.”
I was filled with these thoughts as I stood there. Mind you, out of nowhere.
And in that moment, I found myself reaching out, trying to scoop up the sunrays and pour them over me. I wanted so much to touch the streams of light. I wanted the brightness that was in front me—inside of me. It gave me such joy because I knew the source.
I stood there for minutes. I had a brief time with God and His majesty, in beams of sunlight through a porthole, just He and I.
Isn’t that how it should be with our Lord?
Special times.
Unique times.
Private times.
Where He shows up, just between you and him.
We give so much emphasis to church time, and prayer time, and service time, and etc, etc., time, which is all well and good, but I think there will always be those private times IF your heart is open to him.
And I love that about God.
Just when I needed it the most, He gave me a reminder.
Maybe you’re in need of a reminder.
May I challenge you to keep your eyes open for those private times? Times that to anyone else would seem so benign but to you, just to you, where your heart wants to be with God so much that he uses the ordinary to show you something incredible. And in doing so, the feelings wash over you like a morning dew. A gift.
So many of us have struggles. So many of us have difficulties. So many of us have troubles that seem unbearable at times.
Look for those private messages.
Find the dust filled rays of Sonlight that give you Hope when the worries have taken over.
He may be giving you a promise–through a porthole–or any other means He chooses.
And when you find them, I suggest you do everything you can to scoop up the joy to pour in your heart—even if it’s for only a few minutes, because His joy does wonders for the soul!
(I would love to hear if you’ve had some private times that filled your soul. Leave a comment—we all need stories to inspire us!)
Thank you Lisa! I am glad you felt a blessing by this. I love how God works and His timing is perfect. May you find some ordinary things that become incredible! Thank you for stopping by.
Loved this! It’s just what I needed to hear and be reminded of today. I agree with Shirl we do get blinded by our troubles and it’s so easy to lose sight of the One who is always right there waiting for us to reach out to Him. Thank you for sharing this, it was a huge blessing to me!
I love this story… Sometimes I wonder how often this happens to us and we don’t recognize it because we are so lost in our troubles we forget He is there. A few weeks ago I was in the shower and I was crying and feeling very alone… I asked God why the things in my life were the way they were, after all, I’m a good person, always helping others, loving others, doing the most I can for others…. Why then was I so unhappy and lonely…. The moment I said this out loud I felt like someone placed their hand on my shoulder…. A sense of love and peace came over me while at the same time a panic… After all I was in the shower!! Who could possibly be in my bathroom while I’m undressed and in the shower… But the panic was just for a moment as I realized no one was in my bathroom at all… It was God in my heart, filling my soul, easing my pain and helping me to see how lucky I am to have so many people in my life who care about me and depend on my love and friendship in their lives…. Wow, what an amazing few moments I was blessed to share with Him…
Your story reminded me of that morning and I am so thankful to have received such a blessing and an assurance that He is always there if we just let Him be… I think many times He is there reaching out to us and we are so blinded by our troubles that we are unable to see Him…. Isn’t it so awesome when He reaches out and puts something in front of us that we can’t miss…like your porthole… I love that!!
Oh Shirl, that is a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing. You are soooo right,He does show up, He does let us know, He does give us comfort in the small little unexpected times. Girl, we have all been there with those times of loneliness, I am just glad that God touched your shoulder and reminded you He is there. Thank you for sharing and I know someone will be inspired by your story. Thank you!!!