• Let My Candle Shine!
• Single-Minded
• Gallery: Matthew 5:16

    He sat there in the darkness, thinking his life was over. What had he done to himself? What had he done to his family? His life was in danger, and his mistakes, his false sense of capability had placed their lives in danger, too.

    Not knowing what to do, he turned on the table lamp and began to stumble through the Psalms.

    “God, I need help, I need answers, I need courage...” he begged and prayed simultaneously.

    As he frantically read, the darkness began to lift: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the strength of my salvation. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:2-3)

    “Yes, Lord, please let it be true!” he hoped in his heart.

    “Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.” (Psalm 18:12-13) As if on cue, the heavens opened and lightning and rain began to fall, then hailstones rattled the roof and windows.

“…he knew he had no right to argue, only revere.”

    “Wait a minute,” he thought to himself, “the weather man just said 'No chance for rain.’ What’s going on? Surely this is not for me!?” He really didn’t have a place for this in his theology, but in his helplessness, he knew he had no right to argue, only revere.

    The next night when the weatherman apologized for the mistake, the befuddled forecaster explained: “It was a freak wave in the atmosphere that just passed over one small part of town.”

    It was then he knew. He really knew. His darkness lifted and the light of the Lord’s presence dawned in his heart unlike any other time since his baptism into Christ. He knew he could go on with life. His life was safe and so was his family. The Lord would lead him through. It wouldn’t be easy, but he wouldn’t be alone.

    This true story is the epitome of what the HEARTLIGHT ministry is all about: a firm belief that God is real and active. That he brings life out of death, hope out of despair, and light out of darkness. His grace and his actions don’t always fit our neatly categorized boxes, but his love and his power and his deliverance are real.

    Paul said it best:

2 Corinthians 4:6

    At HEARTLIGHT Magazine we are dedicated to bringing messages of hope. We want you heart to know the light that comes when Jesus is Lord. We want you to have the confidence that you will never have to travel life’s road alone.