Darkness

This morning my Bible reading took me to the second chapter of Daniel. As I read I noted especially the words of verse 22:

...he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Daniel was in the service of King Nebuchadnezzar as a wise man, with whom the king consulted. The king had had a disturbing dream that he could not only not understand, he could not even remember it. He could only remember that he had had a disturbing dream. As to the substance and meaning of the dream, the king was in darkness. He did not know. In this verse Daniel was informing the king that the God of heaven knew, because this God "knoweth what is in the darkness."

From time to time the righteous finds themselves in the darkness. They do not know why things are happening the way they are. They are unsure of the outcome of something. They pray for answers and yet the answers they expect are not forthcoming. Will I heal of this illness? Will I get a job? Will I keep my job? How will changes in the company affect me? Will my business succeed or fail? What is going to happen to the economy? How will my children get on in such as world as this? Will my children be converted? Will our church survive or fall apart as other churches have done? On and on we could go. All of these kinds of questions reveal a struggle with the unknown or, in other words, a struggle with darkness, with that which we cannot see. I myself struggle with it. I see things that threaten the ministry of the word and its impact in your lives, and wonder what the ultimate effect of those things will be. I start a little church and wonder if it will survive. I wonder how the members of my church will survive a weak job market, escalating prices, and so forth.

It has long been a comfort to me to realize that the good and godly of the Bible have also had their struggles with the unknown, with the darkness. Job certainly wrestled with this.

Job 19:7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
8 He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.

The Psalmist experienced it.

Psalms 88:6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

Jeremiah complained of it in his Lamentations.

Lamentations 3:2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

Our beloved apostle Paul also had his times when things did not make sense to him.

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

To be perplexed is to be bewildered, puzzled, or confused. If you are perplexed, things are unclear to you. In other words, you are in darkness.

So if you are struggling with darkness today, do not despair. Godly men, men of faith, have also had similar struggles. You are not alone in this struggle.

And here comes relief with the verse I have selected in Daniel 2. Although we do not know what is in the darkness - and that unknown can cause a lot of anxiety - God knows what is in the darkness. He understands what is going on and why. He calls upon us to trust His knowledge and understanding. Charles Spurgeon said it so well:

"Continue with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith's rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her Great Guide."

How good God is to provide us with light in the midst of our darkness, in the midst of the unknowns and uncertainties of life. We who are converted have even now "the light of the glorious gospel of Christ" (2Corinthians 4:4). We know God in and through Jesus Christ our Lord. We have a personal relationship with the One Who knows what is in the darkness and Who has secured our everlasting good.

I close with this beautiful prospect. One of the descriptions given of the New Jerusalem, our eternal home, is this:

Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

We are tending toward a home where agonizing unknowns and uncertainties will be no more. I decided to try this means to pass onto you a blessing I received from daily Bible reading. I submit these thoughts for your encouragement. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all together will my love in Christ Jesus.