a spiritual total eclipse of the heart

The other day I heard the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. Remember that one?? 1983. I can’t believe that song is 36 years old!

As I was singing along, I realized the song, though nonspiritual, has spiritual connotations. You can Google the lyrics if you’re not familiar with them. How often are we coasting along and then get blindsided by unexpected adversity? We can suffer a “total eclipse of the heart”. Or as we Christians call it, the “dark night of the soul”. In these troubling circumstances when we’re feeling alone, sad, or afraid, it’s good to remember we can experience a “turnaround”. We must remember God wants to turn our difficult circumstances around into something good.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

“…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

But sometimes we forget this. We don’t see improvement in our circumstances and assume God’s not listening, or He doesn’t care. But God is always with us. Remember the movie The Wizard of Oz? When Dorothy found out she had the power she needed on the inside of her the whole time she was in Oz? It’s the same for us! When we find ourselves in “Oz”, we can sing, “Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time”. He loves us and wants us to trust He is our inner power holding us together.

But as in Bonnie’s song, sometimes we must move. We must “turn around” to experience our turnaround. We need to get our eyes off our circumstances and focus on Him. Then the darkness will lift, and the light will shine.

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