3 Ways Through Life’s Eclipses
Have you witnessed (with safety ISO glasses of course) a total solar Eclipse? As we approach the next total solar Eclipse on April 8th, 2024, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how the moon blocking the sun’s light serves as a powerful metaphor for our own Christian walks. Sometimes our lives can feel quite dark, but if we know what steps to take, then we can learn how to always find God’s light regardless of the situations around us. So if you want to learn how the Eclipse can bring meaning into our own lives, then keep reading!
#1. Preparing Before The Eclipse Starts
Bible Verse: Psalm 23:1-2 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
Learn And Gather:
Eclipse: The first step towards preparing for an Eclipse is doing your research. What is an Eclipse? Why is it special? What supplies do you need? After you know everything about the event to prepare yourself, you need to also oder the supplies (the ISO glasses or make a diy viewer).
Spiritual: Our first step in faith is also preparing. Like the verses above shows, we must first KNOW the Lord and KNOW that He is our “shepherd” in life. We must also know that with Him we “lack nothing,” and BELIEVE it! And we must also live the life of having Him as our “still waters.”
Find Your Place:
Eclipse: What are the best locations for viewing the Eclipse? What time of day will it occur? Knowing when and where to be for the best view of the Eclipse is vital in actually getting to see the total Eclipse, because if you are not in the right spot, you won’t get to experience it fully.
Spiritual: Just like in the verses above, we must also spend time with Him in prayer and in His Word (the “green pastures”). We must “lie down” beside Him, and get to know our “shepherd” for who He truly is! Have we spent intentional and frequent time with Him? By time I mean actual quality time, not just several few moments here and there as we have left for Him during the week? If we are not in the right place in our relationship with Him, then we won’t get to experience the TRUE relationship that a quality one brings.
Preparing For The Unexpected:
Eclipse: When planning to go out and watch the Eclipse, we must also prepare for the unexpected. We must think through any weather that we might have to deal with. We must also plan what we will do if one of our diy viewer or ISO glasses breaks. We have to prepare in our minds for the unexpected before those events happen.
Spiritual: Just like with preparing for an Eclipse, we must also prepare in our faith for the unexpected. The world will never truly make us feel fulfilled, so have we started to find that fulfillment in our faith instead? Have we started to lean on God, even during the good moments? We have to live a life that lets God “lead” us to the waters. Have we become intentional and consistent in our prayer and Bible study? Have we filled our time with God instead of worldly extras? We must prepare with these things to get ourselves ready for any upcoming unexpected events.
#2. Putting On Your Eclipse Glasses
Bible Verse: Pslam 23:3-4 “He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Remembering Your Glasses:
Eclipse: Now that the Eclipse darkness has started, you must now remember the supplies that you have prepared. You must start using them to allow you to view the moon crossing over the sun.
Spiritual: When you are having the darknesses of life start to descend around you, you must remember all of the skills that you have prepared yourself with. You have made the preparations to learn how to let God “restore” your “soul.” .
Letting Them Shield Your Eyes:
Eclipse: We must now actually wear the glasses, to protect our vision. Because looking directly into the Eclipse will do possible permanent damage to our vision. So we must keep our glasses on at all times through the darkness.
Spiritual: The verses above also show us that through the darkness we will let Him “guide” us in His “paths.” When we let Him “guide” us in His path we will then find our way through the darkness. When we seek our own “paths” through the darkness, we will never get to see God’s beautiful light because we are not letting Him shield us from the darkness. By trying to get through the darkness on our own, that shows that we haven’t put on our glasses yet. But when we do wear the glasses, we show that we have prepared ourselves and shows how we have already learned how to “fear no evil” because we have already let Him “comfort” us.
Seeing Through The Right Lens:
Eclipse: If we have not purchased the right glasses, then we can still get damage to our eyes. We must put on our ISO approved glasses, and only then can we look into the Eclipse, and watch the moon cross over the sun. When the moon is fully over the sun, you will witness a beautiful ring of light around the moon, still revealing the suns beautiful light, but we can’t look at it without the right lens.
Spiritual: Now since we are putting on our skills of leaning on God, and trusting in Him through the darkness, we must also retune our own vision. Do we look at every element of life, through the metaphorical “God lens” of life? Do we always ask ourselves, how will this affect my faith? Or how will this affect my time spent with God? Or asking ourselves if making this decision will bring us closer or further from God. We have to see through the lens of life, and find God’s light in ALL things. He has to become our “guide,” by becoming our lens to every decision and plan in our lives. If everything in our lives doesn’t point to God then He cannot lead us through the “valley” in our lives.
#3. Beyond The Eclipse
Bible Verse: Psalm 23:5-6 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the LORD’s house forever.”
The Sun Shines Again:
Eclipse: Soon after the moon is in line with the sun, it will start to move past the sun, exposing more and more of the sun’s light across the sky. The darkness that was found during the total eclipse, will quickly be returned to the daytime light.
Spiritual: Even after the darkness of our lives starts to go away, we realize that God was there during the darkness “preparing a table” for us even during the darkness. Just like with the Eclipse, we will start to slowly get out of the darknesses of life.
Maintaining Clarity Even Without The Glasses:
Eclipse: After the moon leaves the sun, you will probably take off your glasses. You will need to have your eyes adjust to your surroundings, but then you will go about life like normal. Only having the glasses and memories to take with you.
Spiritual: Even when the darkness of our lives has went away, we must remain being able to use our God lens through life. We can’t go about life, only relying on God during the hard moments. His light is there on the good days, and during the bad days. We must maintain that clarity of vision continually. Always seeking Him “all the days” of our lives.
Preparing For The Next Event:
Eclipse: After the Eclipse is over, and the enjoyment is gone. You can go home and start preparing for your next adventure.
Spiritual: Just like with the Eclipse, we also must start preparing for our next round of darkness. We can’t go off and forget about how much we needed God during the hard moments. We need a deep relationship with Him on the good days, to prepare ourselves for the bad days. We can’t expect to “dwell in the Lord’s house” if we aren’t already living there in the good days. God is calling for us to lean on Him during the good and bad moments. He wants us to remember how much we leaned on Him during the darkness, and to take that for when the light reappears.
Conclusion:
The darkness in our lives are unavoidable, but we must prepare for those days before they arrive. No matter where you find yourself on in your Life’s Eclipse, you can be confident that there is a way through it WITH Jesus.
If you find yourself in the first point of the Eclipse, then you need to buckle down and strengthen your relationship with God NOW. Spend time with Him in the “green pastures” so you can build a lasting relationship.
If you find yourself through the second point of the Eclipse, and feel the darkness of the world surrounding you, then it’s time to remember what you have prepared. Even if you haven’t prepared, then today is the perfect day to start. Either way it's time to grow your relationship NOW. Build your relationship with God. Let Him “guide” you towards His “path.” Make intentional time to spend with Him in His Word and in prayer with Him.
And if you find yourself in the third point of the Eclipse right after a dark point in life, then you need to set your focus on Him yet again. It is easy to get wrapped up in the busyness of the “good days.” But we must intentionally follow Him “all the days” of our lives. The darkness is out there waiting for us to loose that focus, but we can’t let it have the opportunity! We need to keep our vision aimed on Him, and reset it towards Him when we find that we have drifted in life.
No matter where you find yourself today, just know that God is there waiting for you. He wants you to experience His true light! He wants you to embrace His path for you, and to show you the “green pastures” that only He can offer. His house is waiting for us to “dwell” in it with Him. An Eclipse only lasts a short time, but our eternity will last forever. Choose to hold fast to God’s light, even during life’s darkest moments, by utilizing these 3 Ways Through Life’s Eclipses.
More info from NASA about the upcoming Eclipse - HERE
About the Author: My name is Katie, and I’m a Church of Christ Preacher’s wife in Kentucky. I am also a proud homeschool mom to two brilliant boys. I love to craft, and make and bind my own notebooks. I also make a weekly podcast show called “Just Bible No Fluff",” where I skip all of fluffy extras and hop right into a short yet impactful exegetical study of the scripture. My mission and vision in life is this: “To empower women Spiritually by enhancing their skills in deep Bible study, equipping them to effectively teach the Gospel to others, and guiding them in cultivating Spiritual growth beyond the Church building.”