Walking in the Light When It's Dark

Have you ever been in a situation where you were walking in a well-lit place and the lights went out? It might have been a power outage in your home. Or perhaps you were walking through a park and a dark thunderstorm suddenly rolled through, blotting out the sun.

I’ve had seasons in my life when the path to the next step appears to be hidden. When I thought I was following the Lord’s leading, but darkness eclipsed the light and the way was no longer clear. Ever feel like that? You’re obeying the Lord, but then . . . silence. Or maybe obstacles occurred and you wondered if you heard Him correctly.

How do we reconcile these experiences with what Jesus said in John 8:12?

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Although I have the “light of life,” there are occurrences and experiences in our broken world when darkness will attempt to block that light. Occasionally, those attempts will temporarily succeed. So how do we walk in the light when it’s dark?

Keep Moving

I’ve found the answer is to keep moving forward with what we know to be true. To hold on to what we saw and heard in the light. Oswald Chambers said it this way:

“We do not see the path though we know it is there, then the light shines and we see it, and when the darkness comes we can step boldly. Sometimes the light is as the moonlight or the dawn, or it comes as a flash of lightning, when all of a sudden we see the way we should go.”*

We may have God’s direction either from His Word, the prompting of His Spirit, or godly counsel. But the enemy loves it when we allow fear to stop us from continuing in obedience to the Lord’s direction. Let’s follow the light we’ve been given until God again shines His light on what comes next.

The psalmist wrote: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105) The Hebrew word for lamp has been translated as candle or lamp. And the Hebrew word for light has been translated as celestial light (sun moon, stars), daylight, lamplight, or even lightning. So while God promises to provide light, it may not always be the type of light we want. Still, we walk in the light He provides, step by step, until more light is given.

How are you walking in the light God already gave you?

• Oswald Chambers, Daily Thoughts for Disciples, April 26.