"Enlightenment"

"His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled." (Psalms 97:4)
As it was only a matter of time, and there are very few moments when our purpose and our circumstance are connected or lined up together as one. Don't ask, sometimes I just type without even thinking what it is that I am trying to say. If you are like me, you are always looking for the Gospel message to come out, even during the most strange or inopportune times. But isn't that how the Gospel is meant to work? I mean, if you really stop and think about it, our lowest points in life are the times when we are most likely the closest we ever get to God. It is the times when we feel that there is nothing left, that we actually experience what it feels like to need nothing more than God's touch upon our lives. If you have not yet had the opportunity to watch "The Resurrection of Gavin Stone," you might just give it a watch; it's a pretty good movie about what it's like to live in the moment of purpose and circumstance. But there is one point in the movie, during the actual performance, when Gavin, playing the part of Jesus, says to the 'Young Rich Ruler,' "Don't go; you will miss out on so much more than you know." It was enough, if but for a moment to cause the young man to turn back and consider what was being said; and had he not been performing his character, he might have really considered doing the thing that was being asked of him! Talk about being enlightened, there were several onlookers who had to stop and think what was being said, even though what was said was not in the script. But there was a hidden underlying message in the movie, which comes to light during the special interviews with Josh McDowell and his son; it was, "This is what we do." There are several different ways that we can take the meaning of that simple little phrase, but in the light of the Gospel, what we do is turn! The word "trembled," although it might have a little fear associated with it, it actually speaks of being made to bear, or to turn, as in, turn around, or to be turned. It is like when you take something harsh or uneasy, and you turn it into something pleasant or soothing. That is what we do when we come to the Good News; all the unpleasant and terrible things we could ever experience are suddenly transformed into light and brilliance. In those moments, even our darkest hours are the brightest we can ever know or experience, as we tremble before the God who loves us...
"Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, "This man truly was the Son of God!"" (Matthew 27:50-54) NLT