All Through The Night

Sue and I spent a few days in Scarborough recently.  Not far from our flat is a small art gallery and antique shop.  In order to attract some custom, the proprietor puts a trolley outside the shop, with a tray containing small, inexpensive items.  I imagine that the idea is to draw people's attention so that they will want to enter the shop to explore further.

As we walked past the shop a few days ago, the tray of goodies attracted my attention and I paused to examine the various items.  One item took my particular attention.  It was a horse brass, at the centre of which was what appears to be a miner's lamp, and engraved on it were the words, ARHYD-Y-NOS.  I soon discovered from our daughter, Caz (who lives in Wales), that the English translation of those words is "All Through The Night".

The image of the lamp giving light throughout the night is clear, but my mind soon led me to thinking about a spiritual application.

Nighttime and darkness can be, for some, a difficult period, bringing fear and anxiety.  It is regularly said by those experiencing times of illness or bereavement that nighttime can be a very tough time for all sorts of reasons, not least because the darkness can seem to emphasise one's feeling of isolation.  Some who find sleep difficult to come by often feel that nighttime appears to pass extremely slowly.

I have recently come across a song by Don Moen, entitled, "God is good all the time", which contains the phrase, 'God is good all the time, through the darkest night his light will shine.'  Now of course there is always a danger of such statements being made in a rather trite and superficial manner, but I believe that Moen's words are based in a wonderful truth.

Generally over the course of my life I have enjoyed good health, and I have rarely had trouble sleeping (in fact there have been occasions when sleep has overtaken me at rather inopportune moments!)  However, there have been times when I have experience periods of illness, and occasions when sleep hasn't come easily, and I admit that I have sometimes struggled on those occasions.   Indeed, I woke up in the early hours of this morning and found myself lying awake for a long time before eventually dropping off to sleep.  What I try to focus on when that happens is the presence of God with me (I am not alone!) I find it such a comfort to know that he is with me in these situations, and if I can make my thoughts "God-thoughts", it can make a real difference.  God promises in the Bible: 'I will never leave you, I will never forsake you.'  He is God of the day AND of the night!

God never promised that life will always be easy.  Sometimes our lives might be really tough, and we may feel that nighttime and darkness seem never-ending.  But we can always look to Jesus, who is himself 'The Light of the World.'  Even if we cannot always see it or feel it, we can know that the light of his loving presence is with us All Through The Night.

I decided to buy the horse brass (a bargain at £1).  I think I'll go and put it up on the wall in my bedroom to remind me of God's promise!