Have you ever been in a dark place, struggling daily with a vague, yet deep feeling of sorrow, discouragement, meaninglessness? Conversations with family and friends seem flat, empty – there just doesn’t seem to be anything worth sharing. And often it seems that most conversations end badly: somehow in your efforts to be funny or ‘normal’ you’ve said something that ends up hurting the ones you love. You struggle with little things and feel like a burden when others kindly help (though they insist you’re not). There may not be a well-defined reason for why you’re here. You just are. And in this dark place, more often than not, there is a deep desire for light, even though it seems like an impossible dream.
Friend, there is hope. There are promises, sweet words of comfort, true words from the God who cannot lie. “Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron . . . They cried upon the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and break their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praises the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder” (Ps. 107:10,14-16). There are a couple things in this passage that bring hope and light to our dark places. First, God will bring us out when we cry to Him. It is His delight to answer those that call on Him. He is not annoyed with our struggles or frustrated that we’re crying again. In tender love, He joyfully and faithfully answers and will bring us out from darkness. Second, God can help us. He is able. He is stronger than the deepest darkness, and will free us from it’s strangle-hold. He can break the bars of the prison we find ourselves in. All we have to do is cry to Him in our distress.
Another beautiful promise of hope is found in Luke 1. “. . . Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” There is hope for every one of us who have failed and are in dark places because of it. There is an offer for peace and light. Through the tender, loving mercy of our God, we are offered forgiveness and light: an abundant life. We may sit in darkness because we have sinned against God. Our soul is in turmoil because there is no peace. God knew that there was no way we could earn a restored relationship with Him. So in His love, He sent His Son, Jesus, to be born as a human, to walk this earth, to be tempted and to experience trials, and yet never sin, so that Jesus could die and take our death penalty for sin, so that we could be at peace with God. This is the light offered to those that sit in darkness and the shadow of death. He is the One who will guide our feet into the way of peace.
The last “hope passage” I’ll share with you today is in Isaiah 61. Jesus quoted part of this as He was teaching while living here on earth. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound: to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. . . . I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” Jesus said He came so that we might have life abundantly. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really think living in these dark places in life is what “abundant life” looks like. Jesus came to comfort and heal, to restore what has been broken. He came to give us a new life. He came to give us a life of joy, a life of liberty, a life of praise. That doesn’t mean that never again will we find ourselves in a dark place. But it means that when we do, there is a way back out. If we have accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus’ death, we have a relationship with God. And whether we feel like it or not, He has clothed us with the garment of salvation, and covered us with the robe of righteousness. And therefore, our soul can and should be joyful in our God. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by feelings and by the things that we can see. We forget who we are in God and we forget what He has done. We forget that we are not alone; that we are the children of God, loved deeply and permanently.
Friend, are you in darkness? I am not making light of your struggles. I’ve been there too. But the first step to walking in the light is to realize that there is light available to you. Jesus is the only way to have true peace, to have light in life. In faith, call to God and accept His deliverance, His forgiveness. And then live in that abundant life He gives. If you have accepted God’s gift and yet find yourself in a dark place again, call to God for help, and remember both who He is, and who you are in Him. Don’t let your feelings and struggles and the threatening storms of life steal the abundant life God has planned for you. Come, and let us walk in the light.
Hope in truth 