“For with thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light.” – Psalm 36:9

Have you ever been in complete darkness? The type where you can’t even see your hand in front of your face?

When I was younger, I used to enjoy spelunking - caving. Some caves we went into were mapped and many people explored them. But most were not. One cave we used to explore was an old, abandoned coal mine. It was a dangerous place. It wasn’t unusual for us to go and find that rooms had collapsed and changed shape since last we were exploring.

One time we stumbled upon an exploratory section where they were obviously searching for coal. The passages were small, maybe 6 feet wide by 5 1/2 feet high. It felt claustrophobic, like the air was dead. And the passages seemed random, and all looked the same. You had to slightly bend as you walked.

After exploring, we became lost for a long time. And it got scary! Some of our lamps and flashlights started to die. The darkness was overtaking us. But then something happened. We smelled it at first - cool, fresh air. Eventually, we tracked it in the distance, a small opening and light, even though it was the middle of the night.

It was so exhilarating when we finally squeezed out of the little opening, out of the darkness, and into the fresh air, the wide-open, star-filled night. There was snow on the ground that was a blue hue from the moon. I remember being giddy with laughter, and how wonderful the cool air felt and how beautiful the stars looked.

Many of us have felt something like that in our lives. Not an actual cave. But we felt like the darkness was closing in, and we were not sure how to get out. Situations that seem claustrophobic. Like you can’t breathe, and your batteries were going to die any moment. Perhaps you are there now.

But as we come into the presence of our Lord, we can begin to smell the fresh air and feel the cool crispness of the wide open. And as we worship, we can be released out of the dark and into the fullness of His light. He is light - and as we seek and find Him, we shall walk in the light.

Questions for Thought

1. What is your normal emotional state when in a dark or difficult situation?

2. How did you bring yourself out of that state?

3. How can you focus more on God’s light during these situations?