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A Friend Walks With You in the Dark


“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,

'I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.'”

John 8:12

Have you ever been afraid of the dark? What did you do? Turn on the lights? Look under the bed or in the closet? What helped you to feel less afraid?

Maybe you aren't afraid of physical darkness anymore, but what about metaphorical darkness? What is that? THAT is what Jesus is referring to in this verse.

When Jesus spoke to the people, he revealed that darkness is a place we may find ourselves walking in from time to time. When we find ourselves in darkness, we want someone to either turn on the lights or at least let us know we are not alone in the dark.

The best friends are the ones who at least do one of those things for us. I mean even a halfway decent friend will turn the light on for you when they realize you are in the dark. But, Jesus shows the kind of friend He is when He offers to do BOTH of those things for those who follow Him.

In the Old Testament, there are many stories that connect God's presence with light. With light, God reassured people that His desire was to help them to see and to be their companion throughout their journey together. When the Israelites were in the wilderness and God became a pillar of fire at night, they could see Him, follow Him, and the darkness was pushed back.

As John said, Jesus wanted the people in the crowd to realize that He was the same God who wanted to help the Israelites see clearly and give them His company on their journey too.

Whether darkness for you is discouragement, ignorance, death, an inability to find vision for your life, or simply loneliness, darkness is real. But fortunately, there is a real Person who understands your darkness. Jesus knew the darkness of death on the cross, but He also knew the darkness of being alone when all his close friends left Him.

You may say, "Well, yeah, Todd, I know Jesus understands what darkness is, but how do I know He WILL help me through my darkness?"

That's the problem we ALL face. We can believe God can help us, but how are we intentionally and consistently looking to Him and searching for Him when we need sight and companionship?

Here’s something to try: Go to a Concordance. You should have one at the end of your Bible. If not, follow this link and use the search engine in NET Bible at the top right. Look up and write down at least one or two references for each of the following words: sight, seeing, light, friend, and companion. Now, this will take some work on your part. Look up each of those references, and find the ones that tell a story about or speak to God providing sight and companionship for someone. Finally, write down a few words about how one or two of these stories helps you to remember that God is with you in any darkness you might be facing.

When I am facing darkness, I begin a new search in the Bible to find stories where God helped someone through their dark moment. And when I see that He helped them, I am reminded that He will also help me through mine.

Thank you for walking with us!

Todd

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