The night I came to know God, was a night where I had lost all hope. I had no idea what else to do, but to cry out to Him.

It was a simple prayer, but the words felt strange as I spoke them. I had never approached God in such a raw way. I had never approached God as a real Being. As One Who would hear me. As One Who would answer. But He did.

In the solitude of that night, in those few words to Him, God opened my eyes to a vision. It was a picture of me kneeling on the ground of a cave, head bowed, spirit broken. The cave was black, and I was bound in this darkness by chains. In the next moment, I lifted my face to God, and as I cried out to Him, a force of this indescribable light broke through, and shone down into the darkness. As I looked up into this light, I saw that an ascending case of stairs had been illuminated. Seeing these stairs, I sensed the Voice of God in my spirit saying that ‘I am going to take you step by step from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.’ I found out later that these were words of Scripture (Col.1:13, Eph.5:8, 1 Thes.5:5) but at the time I didn’t really know what they meant. What was clear though, was that something had changed. The darkness that I had known both spiritually, and in the confusion of my life, had somehow been broken. Hope entered in. Peace entered in. And most importantly of all, I knew that God was real, and that I wanted to be His.  

I am reminded of all of this on this day where we reflect on the Cross and mark the death of Jesus.

Mine is the story of coming to know God as real, and falling in love with Him. Of experiencing forgiveness, and turning to embrace a whole new life in Him. None of this would be possible but for Jesus, and the Cross.

For He came to save that which was lost Matt.18:11. By His death on the Cross He took upon Himself my sins and yours, paying the penalty for that sin before God with His own life, so that we would not have to. Greater love has no one than this John 15:13.

As I receive His sacrifice for me, I am saved. Embraced in the love of the Father. Forever reconciled.

It is because God so loved each of us, that He gave His Son. That whoever believes in Him, “trusts in, clings to, relies on Him” the Amplified Bible says, will not perish, but have everlasting life John 3:16.

It’s today we mark this. That we remember Jesus, and His shed blood. The Lamb of God. Saviour. That we may know God, and live forever in His love.

~ by Birgit on April 2, 2010.

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, God, Jesus, Ministry