Liz Rasley

So, I did a thing, like I usually do – decided to write a devotional for the Advent season.

In short, I always love writing these short bits about this time of year, about the Christian faith, and yes, about Jesus. And that insane sort of is-He-really-right-in-the-head sort of love he has for us. I just can’t get enough of that radical, upside-down idea He has for us and the world.

And, just so we’re all aware, usually when I write these devotions, it’s overflowing with hope.

But whelp, like all things 2020, things just look different this year. Including this. So with that: a devotional for the rest of us.

The rest of us that’s maybe sick and tired and long past long-suffering.

The rest of us that’s maybe sad and in need of a nap and/or desperate for some Oreos.

The rest of us, that maybe are wondering, really, where God is and when He’s going to show up.

If this is you, you’re not alone. And God is with you.

…And the kicker? He’s still for you, even if all you have to give (me too, friend) is broken-down bitterness.

Light illuminates, Even in Darkness

by Liz Rasley

“God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.”

– Job 33:28

Light illuminates, even in darkness.

Not sure there is anything more representative of 2020 than the fact that I voluntarily signed up for a passage on Job for a devotional (if you’ve skipped over this book in the Bible, it’s with due cause – this one is a tough one to swallow with a lot of suffering.) What’s even more? I signed up to write about a passage in Job during Advent, in a pandemic no less, and thought, this will be a snap to write. Mercy. Mercy on me and my poor, poor judgement skills. And all of us in phenomenally difficult this year, yes?

For the record, I appreciate this passage in Job because of the bit about light, and how God has delivered us from the pit. That pit and light bit, well, it tracks. Isn’t that 2020 in a nutshell? It reassures me that God is still with us, even despite the arrival of murder hornets. This light-darkness contrast in this passage, is, in a way, a synopsis of every Zoom call I’ve been on in late 2020 – talking about the pandemic and other pit-like things, and then also, some ridiculously joyful thing out of nowhere, like a cat walking across your keyboard. And then sudden realization that you can still laugh, still find the light within you and others.

But, honestly? Most days I’m still thinking about the pit.

Read more here, over at Retreat House: https://bit.ly/romancandleburnitout