Raise your hand if you needed a night light when you were little? I did. We had closets that had lights that would turn on when you opened the door and shut off when you closed the door. So, I would prop my closet door open and keep that sliver of light in the perfect spot for catching that ever-looming creepy thing that I’m certain was going to grab my foot if it hung over the edge of my bed.

Darkness. I’m not sure it’s anyone’s favorite. It plays tricks on you. That chair in the corner is the local ax murderer. That coat hanging on the door handle is some troll who snuck in behind you. The senses pick up. Our eyes widen but we really can’t see any farther than our nose. Our arms stretch out to make sure we don’t run into the wall or that ax murderer. Our ears hears what must be a mouth-breather. We close our mouths and roll our bug-eyes while trying to talk to ourselves as the adults we are!

Darkness. Once you find the light switch, however, everything returns to normal. Heart rate comes down. The running wild imagination has been sat in the corner for a time out. Bad, bad imagination. Ax murderer. Pshhh. Trolls. Bah. Those things aren’t real. (Well, an ax murderer could be real, but go with me on this.)

What about the darkness that isn’t related to the actual sun going down? What about the darkness that falls on your emotions, mind, heart, spirit? It can feel like walking in a dark room and closing the door behind you. Then, once you’re in, it’s difficult to find the wherewith all to turn around and open the door. Life circumstances might be blocking it. Season of life bringing difficult things to process and maneuver through. Maybe there are real hormonal and chemical things that need to be addressed. Regardless, the darkness falls and we need help finding the Light.

I recently went through some darkness. There were multiple factors to it: moving 600 miles away from friends and family, transition in new place, new job, hormones gone wild, and just plain grief. Thankfully, I had wits about me to keep exercising, keep eating right and taking good supplements, but what really brought breakthrough was confession and talking to friends. One friend even pinpointed a deep-rooted sin that I was aware of but had never dealt with. I was pierced.

Something else pulled me from my pit. It was the very voice of Jesus. You see, just as a dark room can play havoc on our senses and play tricks on us, so can spiritual and emotional darkness. We can be in our dark time and the Truth doesn’t seem to get through to us even though we know it. I’m sure there are many truths embedded in us, but our enemy is just as tricky as that coat hanging on the door handle. He twists the truth and we’re unsure what is even real. We are frightened and certain our time has come. Our hearts ache and our circumstances don’t change and the darkness looms…even for Believers.

So, what do we do?

Let’s continue with the dark room analogy. Arms extended in the night. Eye bugged out. Ears on alert. We hunt for the switch or for the handle to let the light in. As hard as it may seem in your dark place, you must do what you would do in a dark room: seek out the Light. One thing we can be certain of in our darkness, when we reach out to Jesus, He will be there.

“I will cry to God with my voice, even to God with my voice, and He will give ear and hearken to me. In the day of my trouble I seek (inquire of and desperately require) the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out (in prayer) without slacking up…I (earnestly) remember God; I am disquieted and I groan; I muse in prayer, and my spirit faints (overwhelmed)…I call to remembrance my song in the night; with my heart I will meditate and my spirit searches diligently.” Psalm 77:1-2, 3, 6 AMP

Ever feel like David? See what he did? Even in his darkness, he reached out. Even in pain, he sought the Lord. We can do the same thing. There may not be answers, but there will be Jesus. Soon, you will find the darkness is pushed back by the Light of Jesus and His powerful Name over you. You will discover healing and hope. You will be lifted up by the very hand of God. You will be changed and renewed. Hold on, the Light is here!