Eclipse

The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse has been the at the forefront of discussion in Nashville for several weeks. A once in a lifetime event, for sure! What an amazing Creator we have! Did you know that the sun is 400 times larger than the moon? And that the moon is 400 times closer to the earth than the sun? For a brief two and a half minutes on August 21st, they appeared almost the same size from our vantage point on earth. AND WE WERE IN AWE. For a few minutes, we forgot about political opinions, deeply held beliefs, who is right and who is wrong, fear, anger, sadness, and came together to be amazed by what our God has done. There are three times in the Bible that an alteration of the sun’s movement is mentioned.

The first, is in Joshua...On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon. ”So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel! Joshua 10:12-14 NIV

The second, as a sign to King Hezekiah…Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. “ ‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down. Isaiah 38:4-7

The third, at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ…It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46 NIV

Each of these celestial events occurred alongside another supremely significant event. Each of these events happened because of the supernatural intervention of our Creator. We cannot overlook the significance of this most recent event. We are living in a time of intense hatred, anger, loss of self control, obsession with money and power, and murder. Perhaps this is His way of intervening, of asking us to take a look at our own hearts, and determine if we are eclipsed in darkness. Are we living for self? Or living for Christ?Are we living in sin? Or walking with Christ?Do we have an unforgiving spirit? Are we holding anger and hatred toward someone? Or are we showing grace?Are we selfish? Or do we give the best of ourselves to others?Are we separated from the light? Or are we walking in it?Jesus said, “The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:45-46 NIV. Now that the eclipse has passed into history, please, look into your own heart. If you are walking in darkness, reach for the light. He is waiting.