Dear Cobham Park Church Family,
I usually don’t tell creepy stories, but I’ll make an exception with this one. I’d traveled to the rural hills of South-central Virginia to preach Revival for a pastor-friend. After the first night’s service, I was looking forward to the lodging he’d arranged for me. I’d have some time to myself in a secluded historic home surrounded by hundreds of acres of field and forest. The homeowner was an elderly widow who was recovering from knee surgery in a nursing facility. But when I told inquiring church members where I’d be staying, their replies were decidedly ominous: “Oh…You mean you’ll be staying out there alone? Are you sure you’re okay with that?” I found their concern a bit concerning.
At the end of a long driveway, I park my car by the large farmhouse and turn off my headlights. When I open the car door, the outside air bites with autumn chill. There’s no security light, but stars twinkle overhead. It’s deathly quiet—I could easily hear a leaf fall on the ground. It’s even quieter inside, apart from the mysterious noises that old, unfamiliar houses tend to make. This house was built in 1832, so its hardwood bones occasionally squeak or pop in the night. As I take a look around the place, I’m startled by a metallic rattling noise, followed by a low rumble. After a few unnerving seconds, I realize that it’s just the basement furnace. I stay up a bit with a good book and a steaming cup of decaf coffee. I then prepare for bed and turn off the lights (after I lock the door, of course).
Feeling my way down the long hall toward my bedroom (there’s no light-switch there), I notice that it is not completely dark. I look behind me toward the oldest part of the house. There, I see a faint, unearthly glow emanating from the dining room. I decide to investigate. The creaking floorboards betray my careful footsteps. Peeking through the door at the end of the hall, a luminescent face returns my gaze! It’s a large portrait of Christ hung on the wall. Upon closer examination, the picture appears to be powered independently of the room’s lighting system. I’d later find out that the homeowner’s son had designed the picture’s LED backlight to stay on continuously. I chuckle as I imagine what a burglar might think of unexpectedly making eye contact with Jesus!
Proverbs 15:3 says that “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”* And the Lord says: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you (Psalm 32:8).” Whenever we’re unsettled and full of worry, we’ve forgotten how close God is! Before we can sin, we must ignore God’s counsel and ever-watchful eye. When I resent—or hate—someone, I am dwelling on that person’s wrongs while simultaneously ignoring God’s gaze into my own dark heart.
Take a moment to examine yourself. Has God’s quietness been making you nervous? Is your world a bit concerning? Does it seem like you’re feeling your way down a dark hallway? Don’t give in to worry; take another step by faith’s dim light. When you investigate further, you’ll discover Christ’s eye upon you. He’s right there with you—even in the dark! If you really believed that, how would you live differently?
In His Love,
Pastor Keith
*Bible quotations from the English Standard Version
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