The rain came pouring down this morning. Heavy and crashing and loud. Nothing was visible beyond its dense veil. It was encompassing and dark. It demanded attention. And it halted movement. I found myself frozen for a moment. I knew it would eventually pass, but wondered, “how long”? And I fought to shake off the fear I was feeling over what might be within it. What I couldn’t see that could possibly be moving in. So I did all I know to do. I called on the name of Jesus.

Once the rain stopped and the wind hushed and silence blanketed the noise, I looked out and I could see once more. There were birds soaring and dipping through the cracks of light between the clouds that were now separating and gently being swept away in the fresh breeze. And some of them sat atop bare tree branches, singing. It seemed as though they were celebrating. It was like I was witnessing their joy. The storm had passed and they were free.

This reminded me of how deceptive fear is and just how important faith is.

We can often feel as though we are in the middle of a storm. Overwhelmed by anxiety as our senses and minds are being overloaded at once. The noise of voices surrounding us and within our thoughts. The heavy feelings of being stuck in our situations. The darkness that keeps us from moving forward because we can’t see a way out.

So what do we do?

The bottom line is, faith and fear cannot exist together. They’re completely incompatible. They will never hold hands and go merrily on their way. Just as darkness cannot exist with light. One will swallow up the other.

So what do we do? We choose.

Choosing to hold onto fear is like sitting in the dark. Or the storm. It’s choosing to not seek out the lamp or the light switch. Choosing fear, in a sense, is easy. You just sit there and maybe someone will come turn on the light for you. Maybe someone will rescue you and you won’t have to call out and ask for help.

Choosing faith is not easy. Choosing faith doesn’t mean you’ll never find yourself in storms and dark places. Choosing faith will often still have you question things. You will get frustrated while you’re stumbling around in the dark trying to find that lamp or switch. Sometimes you may stub your toe and experience pain.
Sometimes you may want to just sit down and stop searching because you feel like you’re getting nowhere.

But choosing faith is knowing there’s a light with you in the room. Knowing where it is and knowing it has never moved and knowing that if you touch it, it will come on. It will light the darkness, and bring clarity. It will calm the storms and bring peace to the anxieties. It will change everything. It will set you free.

So when that veil of rain encompasses you, there’s a comfort in knowing that another veil was torn that you may always have access to The Divine Lamp to lead you out. So that you may sing and soar once more.