Things that Go Bump in the Night

With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18:25-30 ESV). Another idiom of interest is “things that go bump in the night.” This one is not difficult to understand since it is so common. However, you may find it interesting to know that it first appeared in a traditional Scottish poem: From ghoulies and ghosties And long-leggedy beasties And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!

There’s a great little story that surfaced recently in my inbox about a harried mom who felt she had been driven crazy by her energetic children and just needed to get away, if even for just a moment. She ran upstairs to her daughter’s bedroom and closed the closet door behind her. And there, in the solitude of the closet she cleansed her mind by letting out a long, loud scream. She immediately felt better and opened the door to leave. Blocking her exit, with eyes the size of saucers, were her three children. Her four-year-old daughter spoke first: “Mommy, I told you there were monsters in there.” The truth is, children and adults fear the dark or the unknown for the same reason. We desire to be in control of our circumstance; therefore, our fears are intensified when we cannot see what is really ahead of us. This is addressed in our reading today. As I wrote yesterday, like a loving father, God promises us He’ll always be with us. He’s there to offer us His hand in life’s darkest hours. He’ll carry us through the darkness and lead us where we need to go. He’ll always be with us. It is a key principle in overcoming our fear of the future. When we feel out of control, that signals the best time of our lives. It is then that the power and strength of God can manifest itself leading us to laugh in the face of all the things that go bump in the night!