Hold Yourself in the Light

I’m an early riser. I suppose it started when I was a teenager, and it really became solidified as a habit when I worked for a coffee shop. My shift would often start around 6:30 a.m. so I would have to be up at 4:30 or 5:00—which admittedly was difficult. Nowadays, I wake up at 5:00 a.m. and roll out of bed. I turn off my alarm, and I go and sit in silence on the living room couch.

I have two very young, very loud children. You can imagine finding space or making space for silence is nearly impossible. But it’s so important. Kids are great; they require us to give a great deal of our own life and energy in order for them to thrive. Parents have to be intentional about recharging not only for themselves but for their kids—and they have to do it in the midst of utter chaos! For me, I have a small window in the dark hours of the morning.

As Friends we talk about holding each other in the Light, that is to say we hold each other in the divine presence of God through prayer, words, or ministry. That’s a fantastic thing to do! But do we make a habit of holding ourselves in the Light?

We must make time and hold space for ministry in our daily lives. While prayer, meditation, and reading are all important, silence and stillness are paramount to this daily discipline.

There’s a passage of Scripture about a young prophet named Samuel who hears the voice of God but does not understand that the voice is from God. He mistakenly turns to the words and presence of a priest. We can find ourselves consulting the words and thoughts of pastors, preachers, books, and theologians when we ought to be saying, “I hear you, Lord” and listening to the still, small voice of the Inward Light.

In the past, most of my devotional time had instrumental music playing in the background, something to curate my mood. But even good music is speaking and might be coloring or overpowering the Light. Some years ago, I decided to turn it all off. No music, no audiobooks, and no podcasts. Left alone to hold myself in the Inward Light.

Most of our personal faith work feels transactional. We read Scriptures and texts to gain knowledge. We pray to be heard by God. We minister to positively touch those around us. We meditate on society and its great needs. But this one area is not transactional because the Light is ever present and ever speaking within us, whether we are listening or not. No striving, no working, only patiently waiting for the work to be done within.

All of our energy in life comes from the Inward Light. If we have not held ourselves in that Light, we cannot hope to fulfill the work we have been called to. We must daily submit ourselves to the work of the Light. We must silence the things around us and wait patiently with open arms, to remain fully in faith, ready to receive.