Finding God in the Dark

Alone. Frightened. Helpless. Maybe even hopeless. You’ve felt these, too, haven’t you? It can be so hard to keep our eyes on God when we feel like we’re in the dark. Just tonight, though, I had a different perspective and I wanted to share with you about finding God in the dark. Because, dear friends, He is there. He IS there!

I used to be scared of the dark. Ok, let’s be real here, shall we? I’m still not a fan of the dark. Basements are not high on my list of places I love to be. I like that my kids still want their night lights because that means there will be some light in the hallways if someone needs to get up at night. I prefer to dwell in at least a little bit of light.

The dark can also be disorienting. Have you ever slept in an unfamiliar room – maybe at someone else’s house, or at a hotel – and awakened only to realize that you’re not sure which way to go to find the door? It may just be momentary, but it’s a little stressful to feel disoriented.

I have felt lost and disoriented in my own darkness at different times these past few months. Some things I never planned for have happened and have left me feeling alone, frightened, helpless – maybe even hopeless.

And as I was pondering life this evening, God whispered a new perspective on all of this, deep into my heart.

When someone is hurting, what do we do? What do we instinctively do?

We pull them close, we wrap them up, and we shelter them in a hug, don’t we? Or if they aren’t with us, we stop and we begin to pray. We pray for God to cover them in peace, in His comfort.

When we shelter someone, when we cover them in prayer, we actually bring a covering that causes darkness.

But it isn’t a scary darkness – it’s a covering of peace, of comfort. It’s a warm blanket for a physically-needy body, and it’s a God-covering for a spiritually-needy soul.

He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Psalm 91:4

It’s the covering of God – it’s God drawing us in to the shelter of His wings.

God covers us – blocks out everything else – so that we can only hear Him.

As parents, we do this with our frightened children. We place them in the safety of our embrace, we bury their tear-stained faces into our shoulders and we whisper softly so that they can hear the safety and the peace in our voice.

What if that’s what God is doing when we feel like we are in the dark?

Maybe, instead of worrying about the outcome, or trying to figure things out in our lives, what if we listened for that still, small voice of our Heavenly Father? He’s whispering to our soul. He’s speaking His peace and His life into our hearts.

I know that sometimes I need to let go of being the grown-up, and run back to my Heavenly Father, to hear the words that only He can speak into my heart. Are you feeling that, too?

Maybe it’s time we all take a look at our perspective on the dark times. We don’t necessarily like the dark times because we know that struggles are going on around us. But sometimes a retreat into the darkness of God’s sheltering wings is just what we need to hear our Heavenly Father as He guides us through the dark times.

I’m so grateful that my Heavenly Father never leaves us and never forsakes us. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The dark times aren’t because God has left us; rather, they are because He is actively protecting us so strongly that we can feel the shelter around us.

photo source