Seeing in the dark

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:4

In the darkest time, when England stood alone awaiting an invasion by Hitler, King George broadcast to his people: "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the coming year, 'Give me a light that I might tread safely into the unknown.' And the man replied, 'Go into the darkness and put thine hand into the hand of God. That shall be to thee far better than any light and safer than any known way.'" (Good News! Great Joy! by Robert C. Hereth)

The heart-wrenching realities of life. As much as we try to avoid them, we inevitably have a head on collision in some way. We sit with a friend who has suffered an incapacitating injury, her future seemingly bleak. We listen to someone else sharing her fears of the unknown. Fears, not of death, but what lies ahead in her struggle against it. We cry as we learn of a child who has just been given a terminal diagnosis. The future is shadowed with uncertainty. And we possess words that cannot begin to be adequate. We are escorted through a door of darkness and are left groping for the answers.

The shadow of death. In the Hebrew, this phrase means the grave, a deep or very thick darkness, terror or calamity. Job refers to it often as he walks through his own valley of grief and confusion. He says that he can't eat and his groans are many, that what he has feared has happened and what he has dreaded has come true (Job 3:24-25). He laments that his days are over, his hopes have disappeared and his heart's desires are broken (Job 17:11). Job's complaints, however, go even deeper. He longs to feel God's Presence and hear His voice but he can't find him, he can't see Him. To Job, God has concealed Himself, stilled His voice and won't even look in His direction. Job says, "Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere." (Job 23, 30). The shadow of death.

In Psalm 23:4, the valley of the shadow of death is real. It is dark. However, the valley's journey has a Guide. It is God who will lead us through safely, no matter how dark our experience. At the end of the book of Job, God speaks and addresses Job's complaints. Job responds, "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen (emphasis mine) you with my own eyes" (42:5). The darkness can blanket our vision, but how ironic that it can illuminate our faith. Sometimes it is only when we are forced to grope along the walls of life, that we can truly see. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. To those of us who walk through spiritual, physical or emotional darkness, Jesus Christ is the light that shines through the shadows and shows us Himself.

Lord, shine on me. As I walk through dark times, illuminate my path with You.

As I witness others who take the journey, help me to love them like You, point them to You, and radiate Your Light. Amen.

Jocelyn Hamsher