Advent Devotion – A Light Shines in the Darkness – Day 10

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.
Psalm 89:15

Walking in the Light of God’s Presence

In his book Pain: The Gift Nobody Wants, Dr. Paul Brand talks about his mother, Evelyn. Evelyn grew up in England and attended the London Conservatory of Art. She was so beautiful that people would line up to paint her picture. She fell in love and moved to India with her missionary husband. When her husband died, she stayed in India. Dr. Brand writes, “She poured her life into the hill people, nursing the sick, teaching farming, lecturing about guinea worms, rearing orphans, clearing jungle land, pulling teeth, establishing schools, digging wells, preaching the Gospel.” He continues, “I say it kindly and in love, but in old age Mother had little of physical beauty left in her. The rugged conditions, combined with the crippling falls and her battles with typhoid, dysentery, and malaria, had made her a thin, hunched-over old woman. Years of exposure to wind and sun had toughened her facial skin into leather and furrowed it with wrinkles as deep and extensive as any I have seen on a human face. Evelyn Harris of the fancy clothes and the classic profile was a dim memory of the past. Mother knew that as well as anyone—for the last twenty years of her life she refused to keep a mirror in her house.”

Yet, Dr. Brand also writes, “And yet with all the objectivity a son can muster, I can truly say that Evelyn Harris Brand was a beautiful woman, to the very end. One of my strongest visual memories of her is set in a village in the mountains, possibly the last time I saw her in her own environment. When she approached, the villagers had rushed out to take her crutches and carry her to a place of honor. In my memory, she is sitting on a low stone wall that circles the village, with people pressing in from all sides. … They were looking at a bony, wrinkled old face, but somehow her shrunken tissues had become transparent, and she was all lambent (glowing) spirit. To them, and to me, she was beautiful.” Why was this woman with a “bony, wrinkled old face” beautiful? Because she loved people.

The best commentary on our reading is another verse that we hear frequently: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26, emphasis added). The Hebrew word translated “presence” in our reading is the same word translated “face” in Numbers 6. In both cases, the idea is that God loves us and blesses us. God’s “face” is beautiful because he loves us so much! “Walking” in the light of God’s presence means to continually receive and appreciate God’s love and blessings. I think of God’s gracious face when I walk in the “golden hour,” the time just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the sunlight makes everything look radiant.

Continually receiving and appreciating God’s love and blessings—what a great way to live! And imagine what an impact that will have on our lives.

Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to all the blessings that you give me. Help me to recognize and appreciate them, thanking you for your amazing grace. Amen.

Written by Angela Kom