Little feet padded into our bedroom and a voice said “Nana, we need a light.”

“Why do you need a light, Amos? It is night-time and we all need to sleep.” I said this thinking that a light would illuminate the toys, books, or other items that might prevent our twin grandsons from much needed sleep.

“But, Nana, it’s dark and I’m all alone.”

“No, Amos, Tyler is right next to you in bed.”

“But Nana, he’s all alone, too.”

Have you ever felt this way? There are people all around you, maybe even in the same room or bed, yet you feel all alone. That is a feeling of darkness, a feeling that no one understands or cares about you and what you may be facing.

There are people in the Bible who felt this way at one time or another.

Really?

David did. In Psalms 22 David cries out to God in heartfelt despair. Jesus quoted these very words when He hung on the cross.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

Where is God when we feel that all is darkness around us?

God is right there, we just don’t sense His presence when it’s dark. That darkness may be caused by many things that we face in life such as; loss, fear, stress, illness, conflict, rejection, depression, unfulfilled expectations …… life!

When it is dark – we need LIGHT.

John 1:4-9

⁴ In him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

I love verse 5 – “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has NOT overcome it.”

Jesus is the light that overcomes the darkness we face as we live in this world. When we feel that darkness and the hopelessness that accompanies it, we must look to Jesus and let His light shine in those dark places.

Reading the Bible, praying with a fellow Christian, and singing hymns and scripture songs are all ways to dispel the darkness.

Jesus is the Light of the World.

May Jesus shine in all the dark places we face.