For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever and he will guide us until we die. -- Psalm 48:14

Today's lectionary text in Matthew cautions us to keep watch because we do not know when the Lord will come again. It feels hard NOT to be awake and watching these days. It seems like there is a near constant assault of heaviness and gloom. Shalom is shattered: violence erupts over and over again, relationships are broken, friends are sick, people are lonely, and many are anxious, suspicious of one another, and desperately afraid.

The darkness has felt darker to me this Advent season and my longings, deeper. Hope has been harder to hold onto. It all feels like too much. And it is too much...when I forget who God is.

It has been the darkness prompting me to watch for the Lord. The darkness reminds me why Christ came. There has been plenty of lamenting over the many places where I struggle to see the light. There have also been candles lit to declare with faith, though faltering at times, that the darkness cannot overpower the light.

It is often our recognition that we are poor, naked, powerless, and alone that causes us to recognize our need for a savior and to cry out for the light. And in the calling out, we are met. We are met because the light has already dawned and it's who our God is. While all is not yet well or as it should be, our salvation has come and our redemption is near.

Psalm 48 speaks of God as our defender, shelter, protection and guide. He is calling the people to remember that. Not just for themselves, but for the generations to come. May you feel the strong arms of God under you and around you as you look for cracks of light breaking into the darkness. And in catching glimpses of that light, may we remind each other of who our God is and what he is like.