Five-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. “It’s dark in there and I’m scared.” She asked again, and he persisted. Finally, she said, “It’s OK, go; Jesus will be in there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when suddenly he had an idea. ‘Jesus’, he said, ‘if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?’
The story is told of a little girl who was being put to bed one night and she was afraid of the dark. So she asked her mother if she could stay with her. ‘Don’t be afraid’, said her mother, ‘God will be with you’. ‘I know’, said the little girl, ‘but I’d rather have someone with skin on’.
Are you afraid of the dark?
I remember occasions as a small child being terrified to go to bed on my own. Most of the time it wasn’t too bad, I used to share a room with my older brother. But as we got older the time came when mum and dad allowed him to stay up for a little bit later than me. During the summer time it didn’t bother me, my bedtime was 7pm, his was 8pm and the nights were light. But come the winter… that hour, alone in the room in the darkness seemed like an eternity.
Have you ever noticed how many strange noises there are in a house, in the dark, when you’re afraid? All sorts of ghosts and monsters flooded my imagination, walking up and down the corridor outside, or hiding under the bed waiting for an opportunity to get me! Only one thing would make the creatures of the night go away, only one thing would keep me safe – light! I must have light to make the darkness go away. Torches, candles, the front light off my bike – the source of the light really didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered, in my fear, was making the darkness, and all the evil monsters that lurk in the depths of its blackness, disappear.
I wonder how many of us really ever lose that fear of the dark. And I don’t just mean the darkness that comes with night. I’m talking about the darkness that comes when we don’t know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. I’m talking about the darkness that comes when sickness and disease strikes. I’m talking about the darkness we face when our finances take a nosedive. I’m talking about the darkness that rocks us to the core when our families break up or breakdown. I’m talking about the darkness that shakes the whole planet when earthquakes, tidal waves and famine wipe out millions of people. I’m talking about the darkness we face every day of our lives because we live in a sinful world where humanity constantly rejects the God who created and loves us.
‘Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.’ Psalm 112:4
I want to talk this morning about the two types of darkness that we as Christians often have to face as we seek to live our lives in obedience to God.
The first of course is:
The darkness of the world in which we live
Often, when the bible talk about ‘darkness’ it is talking about sin and evil and godlessness. And you don’t have to look too hard around about us to see just how dark our world is.
? We have scientists who are trying to clone, hybrid embryos – part human, part animal!
? In 2016 there were 190,400 abortions carried out in England and Wales. Only 2% of those were carried out for ‘medical’ reasons. That means 98% abortions were carried out as a form of contraception. And these figures continue to rise year on year. The one place on this earth where a baby should be safest – it’s mother’s womb – is rapidly becoming the most dangerous.
The world in which we live is dark:
1. It is dark because we have put out trust in money, power, possessions.
2. It is dark because we have turned to the stars, the moon, and psychic hotlines for our answers and our help.
3. It is dark because we have turned to drugs, violence, deceit, and lies to solve our problems.
4. It is dark because we have allowed our educated thinkers to convince people that God does not exist.
5. It is dark because the world has rejected God and His ways.
6. It is dark because many of our church buildings have become social clubs instead of houses of prayer. Church members are more concerned with being entertained than hearing the word of God. Our leaders are more concerned with pleasing man than serving God. We are more interested in the philosophies and ideologies of men than the message of Christ. And in many places the church has stopped preaching the word of God, and substituted it for a wishy washy gospel.
‘But even in the darkness, light dawns….’ And how are we as Christians called to respond to this darkness which we face?
Well, in Matthew 5:14 Jesus says “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’
Of course Jesus is the real light of the world. He says in John. 8:12, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Jesus is the light of the world – but we, as his followers, are called to reflect that light. In the same way that the Sun is the source of light and it lights our day – so in the darkness of night it’s the moon that reflects light from the sun to the earth. Jesus is our source of light and in the darkness of our world we are supposed to reflect that light to those around us.
You know, the Bible says that God is light. Intellectually that means the knowledge of God is light. Morally it means that the holiness of God is light. Physically it means that the glory of God is light. And when Jesus says that we are ‘the light of the world’, it means that God, by His spirit, has deposited His nature inside of us, and we are supposed to let that light shine forth into a dark, sinful, and hopeless world.
THE MANY STYLES OF LIGHTS:
When I was preparing this message earlier in the week, I started to think about all the different kinds of lights that you can get these days:
a. There’s CHRISTMAS "Lights". Used only one time a year. Only on a special occasion. And they are intended more for show than anything else. There are some Christians only ever seem to come out once a year or only on Special Occasions.
b. Then there are the FLASHING "Lights". They are On & Off - On & Off - On & Off. They have No Consistency. Those are type of Christians that just can’t be counted on to get the job done.
c. And there’s SPOT "Lights". They Concentrate Only on One Area, and do it well.
d. And there’s FLOOD "Lights" which Cover a Wide Area, with usually softer light.
e. There’s BEACON "Lights" who constantly Warn of Danger and Guide the Traveller on his way.
What kind of light would you describe yourself as I wonder?
‘You are the light of the world… therefore let your light shine before others (The light of the knowledge of God, the light of his holiness, the light of his glory, the light of his grace, the light of his forgiveness, the light of his mercy, the light of his salvation) that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ Because ‘even in darkness, the light dawns….’ Even in the darkness of our fallen and sinful world God still shines the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, through you, through me, and through His church.
The ‘dark’ night of the soul
The Darkness Within
But then there’s another type of darkness that befalls Christians. It’s not so much a darkness ‘without’, but a darkness ‘within’. There are times in our lives when we have to serve God in the midst of our own personal darkness. Times when we find it difficult to see very far ahead. Times when it is hard to stand when we do not understand! Life is filled with melody and misery, there are high times and there are hard times. Times that many people have referred to as ‘the dark night of the soul’!
You know some of the strongest Christians, some of the most godly people in the world have gone through periods of great darkness and depression. Isn’t it funny how many Christians want to be “overcomers” but they don’t want to have very much to overcome. We want to go to heaven but we would rather not die in order to get there. There is this kind of distorted idea that when a person becomes a Christian, life will become all honey and no bees; all sunlight and roses and no rain and weeds.
But, you know, the people who have been most used by God, are the ones who have suffered the worst periods of darkness, times in their lives when it seems that there is just no light at the end of the tunnel. If you read the stories of the great saints in history, there is hardly one of them who didn’t experience the ‘dark night of the soul’.
Elijah - God’s iron man of the Old Testament – There on the top of Mount Carmel where he completely humiliated and defeated 450 prophets of Baal – came down off that mountain top and became so depressed that he ran away and sat down under a juniper tree and prayed to die.
Moses - The Greatest leader, handpicked by God! Had God’s power on his life, did miraculous things for God, but in Numbers 11:15 he says to God:
“Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers... I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now!”
Sounds to me like someone who is suffering from depression, someone who is discouraged, someone on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Job – We all know his story don’t we. He had a great beginning and a great ending, but in-between, he wished he hadn’t been born, he became suicidal, Job 3:3 he said,’ let the day perish in which I was born!’ in fact it was Job who says, “God has put darkness in my path” (Job 19:8).
Jeremiah – In chapters 1 and 15 he cries out to God and asks him how long he would forget him; how long God would forsake him. Jeremiah was depressed.
Peter - It is not long after Peter leads 3000 people to faith after the first sermon he preached that he gets arrested and beaten and thrown into prison.
John Wesley - was also given to times of great darkness in his life. He married poorly, he married the wrong woman. There were times she would drag him around the house by his hair!
Charles Spurgeon – arguably the greatest preacher since the Apostle Paul continually fought against bouts of depression as a result of the gout that finally killed him at age 58.
US President - Many years ago a young lawyer suffered from such deep depression that his friends thought it best to keep all knives and razors out of his reach. He questioned his life’s calling and the wisdom of even attempting to follow it through. During this time he wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell." That lawyer was Abraham Lincoln who became the16th President of America.
Winston Churchill - Even Winston Churchill – allegedly the greatest Britain to have ever lived - confessed that he was often, “hounded by the black dog of despair.”
If there is one thing that is certain, if there’s one thing that is sure - it’s that we all go through times of darkness. The Bible, and Christian history is full of people who experienced the ‘dark night of the soul’.
Apostle Paul - Even Paul, that great apostle, the man who turned the world upside down for Christ; Paul, the man who planted churches across the Roman empire; Paul, the man, who is responsible for a large portion of the New Testament; even Paul, got discouraged, and depressed. Paul experienced many lows in his ministries – he was beaten, he was stoned, he was imprisoned, he was shipwrecked, he was left for dead.
Are you experiencing a dark time in your life? Do you have a wayward child? Have you experienced a financial collapse? Has someone broken your heart or taken advantage of you? Are you unable to make sense of what is happening in your life?
There are times in every Christians life when, despite our faithfulness in coming to church, despite our faithfulness in reading the bible, despite our faithfulness in prayer, despite thinking that we’ve got it all figured out – we’re suddenly plunged into deep, deep darkness. And we’re left asking the question – why?
Why did my child have to die? Why did my husband or wife break my heart? Why did my business have to go bankrupt? Why did God allow sickness to come to me or my loved ones? Why did God heal that person and not heal me? Why? Why? Why?
What do we do when the lights go out? It’s one thing dealing with the darkness of the world, but what do we do when the darkness invades our personal life? Unfortunately, for many people, what they do is look to their own strength, their own resources, their own means. The first thing they do is take their eyes off God, they take their eyes off the one true light and they look at their circumstances, they look at their problems, and they try to find their own answers. That’s what Peter did when he stepped out of the boat – as long as he had his eyes on Jesus he was able to do the impossible - walk on water! But the moment he took his eyes off the “light of the world” and began focusing on the wind, and the waves, and the storm that raged around him, he began to sink!
The Bible warns us against trying to use our own lights, against looking for our own answers, looking to our own strengths. ‘Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment’ (Isaiah 50:10-11).
What do we do when the lights go out? Let me offer you two answers:
1. Look to God and stand on His Word
Psalm 112:1 says - ‘Blessed (happy) are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands (His Word).’
(The American bible teacher and theologian) Warren Wiersbe has said, “We live by promises, not by explanations.” Just because (what we are going through) doesn’t make sense to us, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense to God. Just because it doesn’t make sense now, doesn’t mean that it will not make sense later. Thomas Watson (the 17th Century preacher) said, “Where reason cannot wade, faith must swim.” And when we find our lives plunged into the depths of darkness, (by faith) we must continue to stand on God’s Word regardless. Because God’s Word never changes. God’s promises never change! We change, our circumstances change, but His word remains constant through all the seasons of our life.
We continue to live our lives according to God’s Word even though tough times come our way. We continue to give our tithes and offerings even though we may have experienced a financial crises. We continue to come to Church even though tough times have come to our family. We continue to have our quiet time with God even though sickness comes to us. We continue to stand on God’s Word. Because the promises of God remain the same whether the sun is shining or the darkness has come. It was the Psalmist David who said ‘I wait on the Lord, I patiently wait, and in His word do I hope’.
2. Lean on God – similar to the first
Psalm 112:6-7, ‘Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.’
When your life has been plunged into darkness, you do not need an explanation, you need God. It is more important to be with God in the valley of darkness than to be on sunlit mountain tops without Him. And sometimes, God removes all the answers in order that he can give us Himself. A relationship is more important than a reason.
And when we learn to lean on God, when we learn to trust him, even in the midst of darkness, God can use us for his purpose and His glory. John Milton, in the darkness of his blindness, wrote Paradise Lost. John Bunyan was in prison, when he wrote Pilgrims Progress. It was during the Apostle John’s exile on the Island of Patmos, that he wrote the Book of Revelation.
You see, it’s in the darkness that God can develop and grow our faith. It’s not in the light, it’s not in the ‘good times’ that our faith and our spiritual life grows, it’s in the times of darkness. Isn’t it true that it’s during those times when ‘Mr Trouble’ has come knocking on our door, that we have matured more than any other time in our life.
So can I say, never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light... never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light. The real test of our Christian character, the real test of our faith, the real test of our Christian foundations, is not what we do in a worship service, it’s what we do, and how our faith copes in the dark. Jesus said, ‘He who faints in the day of adversity, then his faith is small’.
Shortly before she died, Mother Theresa said, “You will never know that Jesus is all you need until all you have is Jesus.”
Conclusion
‘Even in darkness light dawns for the upright’
Even though you may be in darkness now, can I say, there is a better day coming. If you find yourself in darkness today, then I really want to encourage you to look to God, to lean on God, to trust in God. And He will eventually turn every tear into a pearl, every hurt into a hallelujah, every Calvary into a Resurrection.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). And one of these days, I promise, God will pull back the shades of night from your life. And He will open the door of the morning, and He will flood your life with His light and with His love.
