During May 2024, we had the privilege of being able to see the wonder of the Northern lights. Sadly, light pollution in the London area made it hard to see this phenomenon with the naked eye. However, my more tech-savvy daughter came to the rescue: “Simply activate your iPhone camera’s 3 second function.” Behold! Curtains of light hanging above my back garden!
Somehow, these “invisible” storms on the sun’s surface reminded me of the invisible spiritual war that sometimes rages somewhere around me in the spiritual dimension. Also, of the wonder of the light of the Lord’s presence when I really focus on Him.
Whenever I find myself in a spiritual war, I needn’t become anxious or despondent. I can simply apply my spiritual “lens” and see something of the glorious presence of the Lord. My “focus” will be improved by spending time in prayerfully studying God’s Word. The result: being able to recognise the beauty of God’s omnipotence, reliability, love and grace in my everyday life – especially in the storms. It is actually in the bigger storms that the wonder of His presence is more visible.
Spiritual “solar storms” will also reflect on my life – sometimes with beautiful auroras, but at times with a temporary power outage and the associated impact on communication with my nearest and dearest and even those who are not all that near and dear. It is therefore of the utmost importance that my focus should be tuned by a meaningful quiet time, by edifying spiritual input and with fellow believers who can support me and remind me of the “secret of the 3 second function.”