Whether you’re a leader, pastor, Uber driver, parent, or all of the above, sometimes you find yourself in a dark place.
A place of distress. A place of anguish. A place where you wonder, How did I end up in a hole this deep anyhow?
The dictionary defines darkness as the “partial or total absence of light.” And that’s how I felt when I rolled out of bed at 4:15 this morning. It was dark, both outside and inside. Dark thoughts and worry wrapped themselves like a heavy blanket of fog around my soul.
Honestly, I wanted to go back to bed—like for the rest of the day—and do nothing. But I know better. So I went to the living room, grabbed my bible, and read the first chapter of Genesis.
And precisely what I needed was right there—a ray of light . . .
“And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” Genesis 1:2-3 (NASB)
Desolate emptiness covered everything. Darkness was over the deep.
But then God spoke, “Let there be light” and the darkness was overcome.
A billion times (give or take), I’ve created my darkness through foolish and ignorant choices. Countless times, I’ve ignored God and ended up in a very dark place. Then, just like you, there are quite a few times when I got thrust into the void by the sinful and hurtful choices of others.
But here’s what struck me at about 4:20 this morning . . .
God is greater than the darkness.
He speaks and light breaks forth. No desolate place I end up in by my choice or by others’ poor decisions is the end of the story. God, Creator God, all-powerful God, the God who spoke the entire universe into existence, is not worried about any darkness. Not my darkness. Not yours.
In fact, with Him in the picture (and He is), “the partial or total absence of light” is impossible. In other words, God is not absent from your life or mine, no matter how dark it seems. I am often drawn to the Psalms, especially the Psalms of David when I am struggling.
David wrote in Psalm 139:11-12 (TPT), “It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me, for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night. There is no such thing as darkness with you.”
And the Prophet Micah wrote, “Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
Wow. God spoke into my darkness before most of you were awake and brought His hope and His light into my despair. I might be weeping just a bit right now. May I pray for us (you and me)?
“Father, Creator, God of all hope, thank you for being present. Here. Now. For in the middle of our darkness and despair, You speak, and your Words bring us light. Please lift our eyes from the depths of darkness trying to surround us. Help us to see Your Spirit hovering over us. Always present. Always near. Always greater than the fears or worries that threaten to overwhelm us. We need You, Abba—now more than ever. Amen.”
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Kurt Bubna
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