Turning Toward the Light When Darkness Falls
September is a fun month of transition as autumn plays hide and seek amid summer’s long farewell. Over on Substack I wrote about this liminal space and how I navigate it. You can read the post HERE. One of my favorite aspects of September are the sunflowers. Vibrant and full of Joy, I consider them summer’s last smile, but even more than a poignant good-bye, they speak a lesson of turning toward the Light when darkness falls.
Whether you feel overcome by the darkness of world issues and needless violence in our nation, or your darkness is closer to home in the form of financial, health, or relationship issues, we all suffer the oppression of darkness at one time or another.
Not long ago, I recognized an unrelenting tension in my body and a negative thought loop which nothing seemed to relieve.
Restless waking and sleeping, I finally admitted my efforts to redirect my thoughts through gratitude, self-will, and even prayer failed to restore my peace. Facing personal grief, disappointment, and hostile national events, my world felt out of control. Maybe you can relate.
But after quiet reflection and stillness before God pouring out my deep helplessness and even hopelessness, His first and gentle reminder was that though my world felt out of control to me, it was not out of His control.
So often when we become captives to negative thought loops, we plunge deeper into the darkness we fear rather than turning toward the Light of God’s Presence and sovereignty.
In my recent post, “The Art of Becoming”, I shared how God sent me to the cicadas to learn the answer to a question I put to Him. Similarly, He pointed me to the sunflowers for help in breaking the negative thought loop which stole my peace.
Encouraging me to place a sunflower before me, He spoke three lessons the sunflower teaches for times when darkness and trial threaten to overwhelm me.
I. Sunflowers turn towards the light, reminding me to seek Divine Light in the darkest of circumstances.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1
II. Sunflowers stand tall even when surrounded by others, reminding me to stand firm in my faith even when others around me lose theirs, keeping my eyes upon the Lord.
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”
Psalm 123:2
III. Sunflowers hold seeds which foretell future abundance, even as they boast vibrant blooms, reminding me of God’s ready provision for future uncertainty though today seems quiet.
“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Isaiah 58:11
Reflecting on these three simple lessons, I realized the power each held to renew my mind and reframe my circumstances.
As I pursue Divine Light in dark circumstances, not only does God’s Presence become illuminated, but I allow Him to lead me to a way forward through the darkness. Standing firm upon my faith regardless of popular opinion, I maintain a firm foundation for the Holy Spirit’s work in my life through the trial, which also provides a place from which to shine the glorious Light of the gospel. Resting in the Light of God’s Presence also solidifies my trust in His future provision, when I cannot see past today’s difficulties.
Yet beneath the simplicity of these three lessons rests a deeper truth.
Perhaps the most unique characteristic of sunflowers is their relentless turning toward the light. Even in a scientific experiment out of the University of California, Davis, when kept in a darkened warehouse sunflowers still turned toward the east to face the sun.
As much as we need God’s light in darkened circumstances to find our footing and a way forward, we need more than wisdom or a way out. Maybe the true lesson of the sunflowers is not simply turning towards the Light, but having a posture of trust, turning our hearts fully towards God, resting in His sovereign care.
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