Light Amid Darkness

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In a prophetic word about the Messiah, God’s Suffering Servant, Isaiah prophesied:

I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

Not only is the Lord Jesus the Light of Israel, but also He is the Light of all nations. From the very beginning of time, God planned to bring forth from all nations a bride for His Son. He said to Abraham, 2“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3). All nations of the earth were to be partakers of the heavenly blessing that includes you, dear reader.

Hopefully, you have come to a point in your life where you are asking the big questions about life, "Who am I? Why am I here? What reason do I have for living? Where am I going?" These kinds of questions can be depressing if you do not know the Light of the World, Jesus the Messiah. When a person is in darkness, he cannot see the next step before him. One stumbles around, trying to find out where to go.
In the same way, a person who comes to Christ begins to understand who he is, the reason for living, and where he is going. Light is a picture of knowledge; whereas, darkness speaks of ignorance and the things of this world. The more light or understanding a person acquires, the less stumbling he experiences as he walks through this life. The light also speaks of illumination, of seeing a truth that was hidden before. The light will draw you upward and lift your spirit. Darkness keeps people in bondage and obscures the truth.

There are times in our lives when we go through great difficulties when everything seems dark, but no matter what darkness we have to walk through, Christ will be our light. When we lose a loved one, and it looks as if the darkness is crowding in, when we are sick and want to lie in bed, or even hope to die, it is often because we have no hope and no light—no reason to live. These are the times when God wants to reveal Himself to you in a particular and personal way if you will seek Him and ask Him. He will not come where He is not invited. He has given each of us the will to choose to walk towards the light or stay in darkness. Coming to Him and learning of Him will bring us much light to walk through difficult times. It is written of Jesus, “by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).

Many people experience darkness in their lives as they follow their desires and stumble through life with no direction, not having any knowledge of God. It is in periods of darkness that God speaks and draws people to Himself. However, there are also Christians who have suffered through dark times. Those who follow Christ find that, even in periods of life when great trials come, the Lord is with us and has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus said: “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness” (John 8:12). We must submit ourselves to His guidance and take our direction from His model of living, listening to His voice, and meditating on His Word.

There are many times in life when those who are walking with Him undergo painful situations, which God uses as teaching times to increase our capacity and strengthen us. God is teaching perseverance and creating the likeness of the character of Christ in us. These unpleasant situations are caused, not by our forsaking Him, but because we are walking closely with Him. The Scripture says, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all” (Psalm 34:19). It is not enough to look at this light during our troubles or even to gaze on Him. We must follow hard after Him, for His light is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). We would all like to see further down the road of life and know what is coming our way, but God has only promised light for the next step, not the next mile or the next year. “Why is that?” you may ask? The reason is that He wants us to trust Him in the difficult times of darkness. 
Keith Thomas
Shortened from the more extended study at the following link: Jesus, the Light of the World

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