In confronting the darkness, we can begin to see the light…

Have you ever noticed that sometimes our worst fears bring out our deepest anxieties about life? We tend to go to a dark place where we may feel that there is no way out. We may feel that we have lost all hope and can’t see our way clear. Life can do that to us, sometimes. And then, sometimes, it is through our most challenging times that we can start to see glimmers of hope.

Why do you think that is?

I know that running from our pain never changes the results, it just delays us from being able to process what we are going through. We all have, at certain times in our lives, been through something that caused us enormous pain. So how can you deal with it? How do you make it better?

The answer to those questions, don’t lie within us. The answer lies beyond us. Although we can’t see God, we know that He is ever present and wants to be a part of our lives. Remember, you can’t control what happens in your life. However, you can choose to turn your pain over to a God who loves you and wants you to know that He is walking with you every step of the way. This reminds me of the poem “Footsteps in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson. In this poem, the author wrote that she was troubled that it seemed that when she was at her lowest in life and suffered the most trials, that she only saw one set of prints in the sand instead of two when before God was always walking beside her. When she asked God about the one set of footprints, God replied, ” The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you.”

You see, God is always with us, even when our lives seem to be at its darkest. He never abandons us. The hardest thing that we have to do is trust Him to get us where we need to be. So, it is in confronting the darkness, that we can begin to see the Light. He is the Light that can pull you out of the darkness. Do you want Him to help you? All you have to do is…… ask Him.

What did I learn from this? I have to be open to the many ways that God is with me. He works through me and I have to trust His path and where He is taking me in this journey through life. He never said that it would be easy. Yet, He affirms His love for us in numerous scriptures in the bible. God knows what it is like to be human because He sent His Son, Jesus. Jesus, was fully God but fully human on earth. He knows our weaknesses, but He also knows our strengths as well, He made us, after all! He believes so much more in me than I believe in myself. That is such an awesome feeling and incredibly humbling as well!

So, what can you gain from this? Ever heard of the expression, “there is purpose in the pain”? I’m not sure where it comes from but when you go through trials, you have a choice…… it can make you stronger or you can allow it to defeat you. When you conquer the darkness, then you are stronger because of it. God is always there to guide you, help you and yes, at times, carry you. Will you ask for His help to see you through?