Creating Sacred Space by David W. Fournier - HTML preview

Starting Your Day- At Night!

In the Creation Story, there are hundreds of subtle yet meaningful clues as to the Master of the Universe and His soon coming intervention in Human History. The text is loaded with spiritual and messianic overtones, which, with some careful and studious observations, can bring out sections of the text that for most people, lay dormant.

One such noteworthy development is the fact the Darkness preceded the Light. This is one of the reasons that in Judaism, the holidays and Sabbath start in the evening, staying consistent with the Biblical Creation Story. This is also a great spiritual truth present in our daily lives. We often find that through the challenges we face, some of our biggest times of growth come while battling the Darkness. As tough as it may be to hear, God, in His Highest Wisdom, decreed this Darkness and placed this Opponent in our lives to create resistance to our pursuit of the Light of the Creator.

Simply put, without the Darkness pushing back on us, placing these obstacles in our path, we would go through this life winning every game, achieving every spiritual height, yet being completely unsatisfied and unfulfilled in our life.

Also, this Darkness reminds us of our constant need of God. This life is a partnership with God, as we strive to do the spiritual work and stay connected to Him, He provides the empowerment and fulfillment to keep us focused. We come to our own rescue, He provides the boat!

One of the ways we can bring a spiritual tool from the Creation Story into our practice is to realize that the day starts… Tonight! Echoing the Psalmist David, who says, “He restores my soul”, and the old nursery rhyme, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…”, Christianity and Judaism alike share a common thought about God working on our souls while we sleep. I support this thought and practice because it promotes faith (certainty) in God.

You must believe He exists in order to believe He watches over your soul. But beyond that, I believe that we can invite God to not just watch over our souls at night, but to refresh and restore our souls, as the Psalmist records. We push so hard during the day,  that evenings can become a time of escape, and that is not such a bad thing. But as we prepare to retire, how much effort do we place in strengthening the connection between the Creator and us? Do we ask Him for “blessed sleep and rest”?

Here is a prayer for those moments before we retire, asking God to give us His kind of rest…

I am at peace.

As I fall asleep, I clear my mind and allow the Light of the Creator into my dreams.

My soul is open to the truth, to love, I feel its ascension.

Letting go of daily chaos, renewal is mine.

I awake in the morning elevated and recharged.

My hope and prayer for us all is to daily (ok, evening) be recharged and renewed, prepared to face the Darkness. Remember, the Darkness has only one goal: covering your vision from seeing the Light! But even in our dreams and sleep, we can maintain our connection and limit the effect of Darkness in our life and on our path.