Monday, August 10, 2015
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If you've ever seen a total eclipse of the moon, you'd have to agree it's pretty amazing! The moon - the great light of the night - suddenly starts to disappear. That big old moon darkens little by little until finally there appears to be no more moon. But don't panic! The moon has no light of its own of course. It's just light reflected from the sun. So, when something comes between the moon and its light source, something like a little tennis ball called earth, the moon just goes dark.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about 'Your Personal Eclipse.'
Maybe that word eclipse describes the season you're going through right now. It feels like the light has gone out, things aren't working, answers aren't coming, and emotionally it's feeling dark right now. Why are things going into an eclipse? Well, it could be for the same reason the moon goes dark.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 32:1-5. David is speaking, 'Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.' Okay, he's talking about being blessed by God. Well, that's the light that comes from the Son of God in your life. This is God's blessing.
But David goes on to talk about his personal eclipse and maybe yours. Here's what he says, 'When I kept silent my bones wasted away and there was my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.' Have you ever felt like that, like God's hand was heavy on you? Then he says, 'My strength was sapped as if in need of sunlight.' Wow! He's depleted. He's worn out. He's weak. Sound familiar?
David couldn't figure out why he was having physical difficulty and spiritual heaviness and stress and weariness. He just knew that the light that had been there before seemed to have gone out. And then he figured out what caused the eclipse. Here we go, 'Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgression to the Lord, and You forgave the guilt of my sin.''
In the verses that follow, you can tell the eclipse is over. He talks about songs of deliverance, the Lord's unfailing love surrounding him. He says, 'Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, for the light is back.' The reason for the eclipse? Something has come between you and the light. Something is blocking God's blessing on you right now. And David nailed it. He said, 'It's my sin.'
Look, you could have looked everywhere for an explanation of this dark time, but the light's not going to come back until you quit covering up that sinful attitude, that sinful action or relationship or habit. Oh you've been excusing it. But you need to quit doing that and instead confess it and bring it to Jesus' cross in what the Bible calls repentance.
It didn't stay dark that night of the eclipse. No, see, the light came back as soon as that obstruction was removed. Well, I can assure you as David discovered, that the light of God's blessing, which you desperately need in your life right now, could start to return to you this very day if you will deal honestly and repentantly with the sin that is keeping the light from getting through. For you? Good news. The eclipse may finally be over.