The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to by night; but the LORD will be your everlasting light.  Isaiah 60:19

 It's so easy, so natural to rely on our circumstances or outside factors to determine our state of being, our state of spirit.  Wilderness can feel like a prolonged time of dark, and we can find ourselves waiting for certain things to happen, or certain pieces to fall into place, thinking then we will be satisfied and have what we need for joy.  It's like waiting for the sun to come up.  But often the night feels long.

Instead, God calls us not to rely on our circumstances, but to find our light, and our hope, in him.  The joy of the Lord is found in dark nights, rainy days, and days full of sunbeams.  It's a matter of where we look, not to the horizon for some dawn we're waiting for, some change in the landscape that will finally bring us closer to where we want to be, but about finding the light God showers upon us.  It's about taking time to bask in it, feel it penetrate our soul, so that even as outside seems like pouring rain or dark of night, we know true light that is not subject to 24 hour cycles, to life changes or circumstances.  The true light gives life to the world.

 When we realize that the joy and true light comes only from God, we are able to rejoice even in difficult circumstances, and that's a powerful witness.  It soon becomes quite noticeable that strength, joy, and hope in our life comes not from the horizon of things we hope will happen or clouds we will hope will clear, but from the one who neither slumbers nor sleeps, the one who is light, always.

  "nations shall comes to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn"  Isaiah 60:3

That kind of groundedness, faith, and hope serves as a beacon to others, tired of riding the rollercoaster of circumstances and aching for lasting peace.  It is perpetual dawn, trusting in the God of everlasting light, and it draws others to know how to find this light for themselves.