A Beckoning, by Natasha Erskine

In moments of great peace, I am often walking down a path toward the ocean, with fields of tall green grass rising on either side, with warm rays of sunshine shining down on my face, a cool sweet breeze blowing my hair... In these moments, God’s love speaks loudly to my heart, beckoning me towards praise, drawing me in to the mystery of a good God, more vast and majestic than the mighty ocean and the expanse of the sky.

But this life allows for many different kinds of moments where Love beckons us to listen, to see and know. There are moments of great light, and mountaintop nights as well as moments of great darkness and degrading pain. All of these moments can be characterized by grace, and they move in and out of every season of our lives.

What does God’s love say in the darkest of moments? How does it beckon?

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear. (Isaiah 59:1, ESV)

In every moment, Love has the opportunity to speak. Love speaks in the glorious rays of sunshine, but also in the dark caves and pits of despair we experience along our way... I have known low moments, like when I stood over my husband’s dead body, holding the hand of the man I loved as the last bit of warmth drained from his skin. Moments like holding my daughters through weeping and fear, devastation and loss. I have sat at the bottom of a deep dark pit, surrounded by grief and despair. And still, I heard love speaking...

I might have assumed that being surrounded by darkness would naturally coincide with a separation from the love of God, despite my knowledge of Romans 8:38-39. I might have assumed that anger and guilt, fear and despair would have driven my God away, making me unlovely in His sight. Unworthy of His holy presence. And yet, in the silence of deep sorrow, Love spoke with sovereign and divine authority, fully present and engaged with the deepest part of me. In the horrendous cry of grief and unbearable pain, love spoke with the authority to heal and restore my soul. In the expression of anger and guilt, the fear of abandonment and loss, love spoke with the divine authority to claim me as His own… Beckoning me nearer.

In each and every moment, Love has an opportunity to speak. Love speaks tenderly in the darkest of places. And Love has the authority to speak into each moment, beckoning us, in all circumstances, through every experience, to know the God who reigns on High, in great glory and power, with His sceptre extended in justice and mercy, with the sovereign authority to reach into your moment and beckon you nearer... changing you into the image of his Son, honoring you with His Name, and bringing change and power to bear on your life (Graham Cook).