Tank Water

I didn’t mind going outside to fill up the blue bucket with rainwater… except if it was after dark.

Revelation 22:1-21

Reference:  v.5 There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  As a child we only had a few chores to do around the house.  My two sisters and I took turns in doing the dishes.  Drying the dishes was the worst job but putting the dishes away was the favourite job because it was the quickest and easiest!  Another job around the house was filling the bucket up with water.  I was thinking about this job the other day as I marvelled that we now get filtered water through an additional tap on the sink.  But twenty years ago my parents had a rain water tank just outside the back door and we would fill up a blue bucket with rainwater and bring it inside.  It would sit just in front of the oven and Mum would scoop out water as she needed it.  I didn’t mind going outside to fill up the blue bucket with rainwater… except if it was after dark.  Even though the tank was less than 10 metres from the house we had a large backyard on the other side of the tank.  When it was dark you could not see a thing past the tank so I never knew what or who was looking at me.  It was so dark in our backyard that you couldn’t even see inside the bucket.  So I would have to position my finger inside the bucket at a particular point so that when the water reached that level I knew I could go back inside.  The bucket never filled up fast enough in the dark and so I would stand there petrified the whole time while the bucket gradually filled with water.  I couldn’t scurry in to the house quickly enough when it was full and hoped that I wouldn’t have to go back out there in the dark for a very long time.

Application:  The dark can bring many fears to the surface.  Not being able to see what is before you can bring much trepidation.  In Revelation it says that when we are in the presence of God and the Lamb there will be no more night.  God gives us light so we can see the way.  I’m not sure, in my human understanding, that I can fully grasp what this means but I do know that when times are murky and I’m not sure what the future holds, if I rely on God He will bring light to my path.  His light may come in a new opportunity or a peaceful acceptance of what is currently happening, but either way God is a light for us.  I can only imagine that when we stand fully in His presence that all things will become clear, but until that day we have the assurance that He still promises to be with us.  The more we explore the Bible the greater clarity we get: ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.’ Psalm 119:105. May you continue to receive the clarity from God that you need to fulfil His work in this place.

Prayer:  Lord, we may fear what is before us and not know the right way.  Give us Your light and Your guidance as we strive to live for You.  Amen.

Where do you need God to shed some light in your life at the moment?

Revelation