I unwillingly woke around 6a this morning, and began my morning rituals. If I’m completely honest, I may not like the early hour but I LOVE the gradual clarity that comes over previously darkened and indistinct forms. The peace of it, the anticipation for what the day could bring, the hope…before the anxieties of the day begin.

I looked out the back slider at dusk and was confused at what I saw. The forms were shadowed and I couldn’t tell why or how what little light there illuminated so oddly. I went so far as to go out front of the house to determine if something was reflecting from there, no dice.

Then, just as His mercies are new every morning, it began to slowly brighten and the picture in my back yard became clear.

We’d had blizzards over the Christmas holiday, but it’s now the 31st and nearly all of the snow has melted with temps hitting 51. What I had perceived as roof lines, soffit, and neighbors’ reflections was actually what was left of the snow.

I now knew what I was looking at. A lot less interesting and a lot more depressing than what had piqued my initial curiosity. Now that I know what I was looking at, I can’t see it the way I formally had.

It’s the same way in life, as we perceive the world and situations that play out around us. Consider:

First, I wasn’t willingly being deceived into not seeing what was truly there. I was really and truly trying to see it for what it was, although I knew something was off.

Second, What I thought was light wasn’t light at all. It was cold manifest. Much as Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), the snow reflected just a bit of the ambient light of the moment, but wasn’t truly light.

Third, my awareness wasn’t on my schedule, based on my timing. I couldn’t see the truth until light was poured in.

Now I can’t see it any other way than how it truly is. Sometimes realizations are delightful, and sometimes they are downright hard. Once you know the truth, it will indeed set you free. But, truth must often first expose a lie, that much like the snow, presented as something it wasn’t.

Lies do damage. Damage requires fixing. Fixing is hard. Often it forces us to address fears we’ve buried for a reason. They hurt, sometimes excruciatingly.

But they’re temporary. Remember: clarity is a responsibility, and a gift. Once you know the truth, if you have any hope of it setting you free, you must accept it, address it, and live in it. It may be hard, difficult, or painful for a season…but with reason. Recognizing the truth and acknowledging the pain for what it is is A step, but it’s not the only step. Pain isn’t all there is and it doesn’t last forever, so keep taking them. I promise it’s worth it. The truth and clarity provided by our loving Heavenly Father weren’t gifted to you for the sake of the suffering, but what the suffering produces: HOPE.

Sit in that for a minute: as you experience this freeing truth, when you do the work (and it is) to move through the pain to the other side of whatever you’re dealing with, what do you see? Who are you on the other side? Once you overcome this, how does your life change? What will you be able to do? Who will you be able to serve? How will what you’ve overcome impact others? Might you save someone from similar folly or simply befriend someone struggling because you’ve already been there and can provide the hope you wish someone had provided you? What sort of character is He building in you? I don’t know about you, but I get excited to the point of butterflies when I ponder how good God is and how I can be used to point others toward His love. Can you feel it too?

Ask Him. Doesn’t have to be fancy. “Lord, what would you like to do with me today? What do I need to see to experience your truth? What can I do to proactively seek you and your purposes for my life without striving? I don’t know what it is, but I’m willing to do the work. In your perfect timing, please show me the purposes you have for me, use me, and please help me to be patient with the process. I trust your timing. You love me and are only good, and I thank you for making me the light of the world too.”

This is truth, friends. And it will set you free. (John 8:32)