A Flashlight in the Dark

Sometimes it is dark in the wilderness.  The air is so thick that you can’t find your foot. What if you fall off of a cliff in the blackness?  There appears to be no way to find your footing, so the path is completely invisible.  Hope seems distant, and continuing on the journey is impossible.  Questions like, “Where will I go?  How will I see the path in front of me?” takes hold of our minds.  We grasp for anything that is familiar.

And then, out of the blue, friends step in and shine a light on the path.  Not too bright as to overwhelm the night sky, but enough to get you back on track.  They help you through the dark times.  “It’s okay,” they say, “I am here with you, to guide you safely back to your road.”  And before you know it, you find yourself sure-footed and moving forward.

We all experience black nights that seem to never end.  Hope and faith are tested in ways that we could never imagine before this moment.  This is where God steps in and gives to us what we need.  The light to put us back on the path.  And the Divine is revealed in loving friendships.  They are sent to us to remind us that we are more than what we think in this darkened part of our journey.  “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37 NKJV).  This text becomes our mantra.  “We are more than conquerors!”  This is the truth, no matter how dark, no matter how frightening.

Today in the wilderness, I am thankful for the friends that overwhelm me with love and support, the people who raise me out of darkness.  My hope is that truth will light your path and that divine love will set you free.  And of course, may we all remember that “We are more than conquerors!”  Praise be to God who gives us the victory over anything that blocks our path.