By Jesse Becker

We have all experienced dark days in our lives. Some of us know the loss of a loved one. Some know the difficulties of illness or pain. Some have lost the security of a job. We’ve all experienced personal failure. Most of us know the dim light of the unknown. While we as humans are only allowed to know the present and have memories of the past, we can’t help but feel the anguish of an uncertain future.

Let me encourage you with this thought: Our God is timeless. He is all knowing. He is the engineer of every event in our lives. And His purposes are perfect. We know these statements to be true, but how can these truths help us?

There is an old hymn, a favorite of many, called Be Thou My Vision. The melody is attributed to a blind, first century Irish Christian. The modern English lyrics with which we are familiar were written by Mary Byrne more than a century ago. These words hold the key to turning on the night vision we often desire. The key is to continually live in God’s presence; to let go of everything else; to think of nothing else but Him every hour of every day.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalms 46:1