Being Comfortable In The Dark
Scriptures: Hebrews 11:1; John 20:24-29; First Corinthians 2:14
The title of my message this morning is “Being Comfortable in the Dark.” The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) I will come back to this later, but for right now I want you to know that if we are to walk in faith we must become comfortable being in the dark – walking without having all of the directions beforehand. This message is one that I have preached to myself this week – it is very personal. There are a lot of things happening around me and for a brief moment I felt my focus and assurance wavering – a very scary feeling. I felt darkness engulfing me in a way that I have not experienced in years. However, within that darkness, God spoke to me about faith. When we are walking in faith, sometimes walking alone on that path, we will experience times when we are in the dark and relying totally on God, which should be our way of life. But sometimes we need the darkness to remind us of our reliance on God. This morning I want to talk to you about faith, but from the viewpoint of not knowing – the very definition of being in the dark.
In order to walk in faith, we must become comfortable with being in the dark. I am not necessarily talking about physical darkness, although there are some similarities that I will talk about shortly. I am talking about mental darkness – the darkness that we experience when we do not understand what is happening, yet we are supposed to be taking steps and moving forward. Walking in faith means that we believe and hope for something that we cannot presently see. This belief is grounded in our understanding of God and Who He is in our life. Because we have that trusting relationship, we are willing to follow Him blindly. To understand how this works, I want to spend a few minutes talking about the natural darkness.
When I was a small boy there were times when I was afraid of the dark. There was just something scary about not being able to see what was out there when everything was dark. In total darkness, it is impossible for you know everything that is going on around you because you cannot see it. When I was a child there were times when my parents would ask me to go into another part of the house to get something and immediately I began to turn on lights as I went to make sure there was nothing going to jump out at me. Even though I knew there was no one else present in our house, my imagination still conjured up ideas of someone hiding in the darkness just waiting to get me as I walked down the darken hallways. Even though we were allowed to play outside after dark, we had to stay pretty much in our yard or in the school yard right across the street from our house because we understood that bad things happened in the dark. How many times have we heard about places that we should not go to after dark? The reason is that bad things happen in the dark. When Jesus talked about our being ready and on guard as we watch for His return, He used the analogy of a thief coming in the dark. He said, “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.” (Matthew 24:43) We know that, “in general”, thieves break in during the darkness because it decreases their chance of getting caught.
The physical darkness complicates our lives. We are limited as to what we can do and where we can go after it becomes dark. The darkness limits us and, for some people, it terrifies them. I have been traveling on roads in western Kansas in the daytime that I would not want to travel at night. These roads had no lights and it would be pitch black with many miles between two cities. I always imagine what it would be like to have car trouble on one of those roads late at night and having to sit there in the darkness – not being able to see anything. The physical darkness is scary and so is the mental darkness. I am using the term “mental darkness” to represent our not knowing everything and yet we must continue forward until the light breaks through. This, New Light, is called walking in faith.
If you contrast the darkness with the daylight, there is only one difference between the two; in the daylight you can see what is around you. You can be in the exact same spot at two different times of the day and have complete confidence at one time and be utterly scared the next. Why does this happen? It happens because in the daylight you can see for great distances what is around you and you know that no one can sneak up and attack you without you seeing them. This is not the case when we are in total darkness. During those times we cannot see what is around us and it would be easy to be attacked from behind. One more point I want to make about the darkness. When there is a bad thunder storm at night, the storms seem worse because at night you cannot see how dark the clouds are. You cannot see a tornado in the distance. Also, when the lightning flashes, it is magnified by the darkness. Darkness magnifies storms because we cannot “see” how bad they really are so our imagination kicks in. We can imagine worse storms in the darkness than we can in the daylight because our minds can be extremely active at night. What I want you to see from this analogy of the physical darkness is that when we are walking in faith, we are holding on to God’s hand through the darkness. So let’s go back to what the writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 11:1.
Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the assurance (substance) of things hoped for, the conviction (evidence) of things not seen.” Now focus on the last statement “of things not seen.” Remember, the only difference between being in a location in the daylight and being in the same location when there is total darkness is the ability to see what is around you. In total darkness we cannot see things. So, to put it plainly, to walk in faith means that we must get very comfortable being in the dark knowing that, while we do not know what is happening around us, God does and He is working. Now the problem that exist for some is that although we know that God is working, we sometimes find ourselves being very uncomfortable because we do not know what He is doing. Remember earlier when I talked about some people being terrified of the dark? There is a physical response within our bodies when we are scared. We breathe quicker; our pulse rate increase and we become agitated. All of these symptoms prepare us for what is known as the fight/flight response. Our body prepares us to get ready to fight or to run like crazy. When our bodies begin to go down the road towards a fight/flight response, we have two choices: we can lose control or we can calm ourselves and remain in control. If we lose control, we stop thinking clearly and we begin to operate on impulse. However, if we calm ourselves we retain control and are able to make sound decisions because we are thinking clearly. The same principle applies to our faith walk.
When we are walking in faith and are comfortable being in the dark, as it relates to what God is doing and how He is doing it, our responses are calm and focused. But when we are uncomfortable in that time of mental darkness, not knowing what God is doing and even wondering if He doing something, then we lose our peace and start seeking our own answers. This is when we get into trouble. When we are standing in faith, we are standing for an outcome that has not happen, so the outcome is still dark to us and, for some, it can be nerve racking. It can be so nerve racking that they stop walking in faith and attempt to create their own answers. This is where our faith breaks down and many blame God for the outcome that they themselves created. But when we stand firm, comfortable in the darkness, we will come to the point where we see the fulfillment of what we were standing for and then understand clearly how God worked it out. New Light, when we stop walking in faith, we are letting go of God’s hand and are no longer following Him to receive the “answer” to our faith.
So let’s talk about how our mental darkness fights against our walking in faith. Mental darkness is when we try to stand in faith but our minds are fighting against us. Mental darkness is okay when we are walking in faith, but when it becomes crippling it wars against our faith and sometimes wins. In those situations our minds tell us that what we are believing for is impossible and therefore it does not make sense. Remember, the mind processes things in a way for them to make sense. Paul wrote, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (First Corinthians 2:14) When we were saved our minds remained the same. It is after we are saved that we begin to renew our minds and how we think. Until that time, our minds continue to struggle mentally with walking in faith – walking in complete and total darkness. During a state of crippling mental darkness, we can only believe and accept what our mind sees and accepts. If the mind sees the evidence, sees the proof, then we will accept it. Remember the story of Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples? Remember how he refused to accept that Jesus was alive because he himself had not seen Him personally? John 20:24-25 records the following, “(24) Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. (25) The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’” (John 20:24-25)
I want you to consider something with this story. I know we know this story well, but I want you to think about the possible reason why it unfolded the way that it did. Jesus knew all of His disciples, their strengths, weaknesses, etc. He “knew” how Thomas thought – how he reasoned. Have you ever wondered why Jesus came to the disciples when He “knew” Thomas would not be there? Think about it – Jesus knew that Thomas was not with the disciples at the time that He chose to visit them. Could this have been on purpose? I choose to believe that this was on purpose because of how the story played out. Thomas needed to make a change in how he thought in order for him to fully accomplish what Jesus was going to require of him and the other disciples.
So Jesus came and visited with His disciples. When Thomas returned, they began to share with him that they had seen Jesus. Thomas told them that unless he could see for himself the imprint of the nails in His hands as well as place his finger into the place, he would not believe. He did not say that he would not consider it; he said he would not believe. Thomas was experiencing crippling mental darkness and he needed to see the proof before he could believe. Thomas’ crippling mental darkness led him to a place of unbelief and not just any unbelief, that type of unbelief that draws a line in the sand stating it will not believe until something specific happens that gives him no choice but to believe. This type of unbelief removes all faith from operating. Thomas had walked with Jesus and his brethren disciples for three years. During this time he had witnessed miracles, deliverance, healings and was involved in a lot of these. But when his mind witnessed Christ crucifixion, his mind refused to accept anything other than what it had witnessed – what it had seen. This was a very crippling mental darkness he experienced. And because of this decision, Thomas forgot what Christ had taught them; he forgot about what he had experienced with his fellow disciples: and he forgot how he had been walking for the last three years. It was not that he turned away from believing in Christ, he just needed proof about Christ being alive. He never said it could not happen, he demanded proof that it did happen.
But notice what Jesus told him when He returned. When Jesus came back to the disciples and Thomas was there, He addressed Thomas openly. He exposed Thomas weakness in an attempt to help him become stronger. Again, Thomas could not fulfill what Christ had called him to do if he had to always see something before he could believe it. He could not continue to walk in the type of mental darkness that crippled him and accomplish the mission that Christ had for Him. When Jesus came back, He already knew what Thomas had said so He provided Thomas with the proof that he needed to believe. But Jesus told Thomas “…..because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) Jesus basically told Thomas that he believed because he saw Jesus, but there is a blessing for those who believe who have not seen Him - who are comfortable in the dark.
In order for us to walk by faith we must become very comfortable with the darkness – not the darkness representing evil, but the darkness of not knowing something, but knowing that God never fails us. To walk in this darkness requires a belief and trust in God that many struggle with. This darkness does not have to scare us as it is part of our faith walk. When we are walking in faith we are believing God for something and although we do not presently have what we are believing Him for, we know it is on its way. So we begin to give thanks and praise to God because spiritually we know we have what we have been seeking. When you are experiencing a time when your mind attempts to take you to that place of crippling mental darkness, that darkness comes about because your mind is fighting against your spirit and winning – it is trying to rationalize what your spirit believes. It is trying to gain the same assurance that your spirit has about a situation, but it is struggling doing so. If during these times we are not careful, our minds can override the calmness that is in our spirits. This is why we must commit to memory beforehand the promises or God and what He has already fulfilled in our lives and He encourages us to do this in Isaiah 43:26 – “Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.”
Before I close I want to share one story about crippling mental darkness and how it can lead us to seek answers in the wrong places. Years ago I turned on the TV early one morning and was flipping through the channels. I came across an infomercial for a man known as “The Prophet”. During the infomercial there were many people including two well know ministers, a motivational speaker, a very well-known author and judge all giving praises to this man who had changed their lives through his prophecies. As I watched this, I thought about how all these people were being deceived following this man – they were literally experiencing a mental darkness that crippled them and did not even realize it because their minds liked what it had heard and experienced. Do I believe that there are true prophets of God in the world today? Absolutely! Do I believe that this man was one of them? I have serious doubts and here’s why. All of the testimonies were about how the prophet was able to help them financially. On the infomercial you could call in and request your first “free prophecy” and once you were hooked, you could purchase others. What I found interesting was that all of these people said that every prophecy that had been given to them came to pass – yet they had to purchase them. I cannot find any reference in the Bible where a prophet charged for the prophecy, that was supposedly from God, and gave you one for free just to get you started.
My point is this. We do not like walking in the dark when we are walking in faith. We’re like Thomas. We want the sure thing. We do not want to be patient and allow God to move, we want to know how He will move and when. Because of this need, we will seek out anyone who will tell us what we want to hear and ignore where God is trying to lead us. I am asking you this morning, if you are standing in faith for something and you have not received your answer, although darkness may surround you, your answer is coming. Just hold on – don’t give up. If everything seems to be crashing around you, stand on your faith. Don’t tell God that you will believe when He has answered your prayer, tell Him that you know He will answer, and you are going to wait and be led by His Spirit. Satan doesn’t want us to be comfortable in the dark. He doesn’t want us peaceful as we wait. But we have a promise from our Father. As we become more and more comfortable in the dark, Isaiah 26:3 says this about Him: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” New Light, let’s learn to be comfortable in the dark.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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