by David Falk | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

When we speak of darkness and light, it sounds like a contradiction. We know that Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the ‘Light of the world’. John 8:12. What then is the place of darkness? We all know that sense of walking in darkness during difficult and painful times in our life. Sometimes the situations that we find ourselves in seem hopeless, and we cannot see the way ahead. We wonder what we have done to cause it. At these times, we may identify with the psalmist of old who said, ‘The cords of death encompassed me; and the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help ...’ Psa 18:4 -6. 

These times of darkness were described by the apostle Peter in a different way. He spoke of these difficult times as being the fiery trial. ‘Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;  but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation’. 1 Pet 4:12-13. Peter was drawing attention to our convoluted view of fire and our confusion about the place of suffering in our lives. ‘Do not be surprised!’  Fire is the action and imposition of God upon our lives. It is the thing God allows to break in upon us to change us and make us different people. You know the feeling when you’re going through a fiery trial - it’s just not pleasant. You’re not happy because it is not easy. If you can catch hold of the reason for fire and accept the place of suffering, it is going to transform your life.

If anyone was acquainted with darkness it was Abraham. He lived in the darkness of Ur of the Chaldeans, which is probably Baghdad, still a troubled area of the world today. This is where Abraham met God. In that place of darkness, the arrows of the Almighty penetrated his heart and called him. God spoke to Abraham and said, ‘Go forth’ and he went out not knowing where he was going. He believed. The outcome of Abraham’s fiery trial was that he heard a word about his life.  The Lord came to him and lit his lamp. God wants to light our lamp in the darkness too. He wants you to be able to ‘run through a troop and leap over a wall’. Psa 18:29.  He wants to speak a word to you such that you will go out like Abraham not knowing where you are going, but confident in Him.

The Scripture says of Abraham, ‘He believed God and it was reckoned to him for righteousness’.  Gen 15:6. It means that God gave him the substance of the thing he believed for. Abraham believed and he did not grow weak or weary in believing. God brought upon Abraham a ‘horror of great darkness’. Gen 15:12. But it was in the darkness that the Lord spoke to him about his life and made a covenant with him. In the same way, the psalmist rejoiced, ‘For You light my lamp, The Lord my God illumines my darkness’. Psa 18:28. 

If you are downhearted, morose or tired, stir yourself. If you are going through a process, let the arrows of the Almighty penetrate your heart. Let the lightning flashes come in abundance and rout your enemies. Psa 18:14. Channels of water will appear in your life. The Most High wants to speak to you. God is allowing the darkness to come so you have the opportunity to hear a word from Him about your life. If you respond in faith, He will light your lamp. If you accept the trial and believe through the times of darkness in your life, the arrows of the Almighty will penetrate your heart. The word of the Lord can break in there and make you a believer like Abraham. He does not want to simply make you a churchgoer, or one who just believes in God, for even the Devil believes. He wants to light your lamp in the darkness. 

Christ hung on the cross, on the Mount of Golgotha, for three hours of great darkness. During this time, the Father made Him the Light of the world. From the sixth to the ninth hour on that day, Scripture records that darkness fell over the whole land. Mark 15:33. It was as though the universe went into darkness for three hours. When it was illuminated again, He was the Light of the world.  Now the Father is saying to you also, ‘You are the light of the world’ because you are with Him and in Him. Even better than that, you can be part of a city set upon a hill which cannot be hidden. Matt 5:14. He wants to light your lamp. If He can bring darkness upon His only begotten Son, He will also bring darkness upon us. We can hear from Him in the darkness. He wants your light to shine. The Lord wants your lamp with its own colour, radiance and beaming light to be seen.

Will you be responsible for your light? Will you be responsible for your radiance? Will you be the light of the world? If you will be, then you can join the light of God’s people as a lamp on a lampstand and as a city set on a hill. ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.’ Matt 5:14.

The Day of Pentecost wasn’t about making loud noises or silent prayer. It was about the lamp being lit. On the Day of Pentecost, three thousand people came to Christ. It was the beginning, the light of a city set on a hill. ‘Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.’ Matt 5:15. In the decline of the church as the years went by, those lamps came down off that hill, and out of that city. The light was hidden. However, we are in the days of restoration. Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, the Light of the world, wants to light your lamp so that your light can shine before men. He wants your lamp to be lit alongside the multitude of other lamps. Again, as each lamp shines brightly, the lampstand radiates magnificent light. His city on a hill will be seen, it cannot be hidden.

When you are in a dark place, remember this: Satan is not the author of darkness. Nor does He hold the province of darkness. The Scripture says of the Lord ‘darkness and light are alike to Thee’. Psa 139:12. And further He says to us, ‘I will give you the treasures of darkness’. Isa 45:3.  The Lord wants to light your lamp in the darkness. We do not love the darkness of sin where men love darkness rather than light. Rather, we love the darkness of God where the treasures of darkness are found. Satan seeks to make his dominion in the darkness. When you are in a fiery trial and you are in the darkness, Satan seeks to take advantage of you. He tries to come and make his dominion in the darkness and provoke unbelief within you. He seeks to feed us with disquiet, uncertainty, unsettledness, and frustration. We must believe. God is faithful and will not let you be tempted or tested beyond that which you are able. 1 Cor 10:13.

God is full of faith towards you. The contradiction is that He sets you in a dark place to light your lamp. He wants you to be more than you are. He wants to take from you something that you are, and give you something that is more. He wants to light your lamp. The life you live will need to be by the faith of the Son. The faith of the Son is a gift. It is not your own faith. You can’t conjure up faith. Faith is more than believing, or even the exercise of trust. Faith is a gift of God that comes by a word that lights your lamp. Abraham believed God and he went out in faith. And considering the promises of God, he did not grow weary. He believed the promises and he endured.

Consider your life. The radiance and glory of your light is not the glory of man. You are not seeking the glory of man and not seeking your own glory. It’s vain and futile to search for our own glory. We need to pray for the fire of God to purify our hearts. And we need to go further than that, and pray for the Lord to light our lamp so we can shine in a dark place. When you believe, don’t stop believing. It’s the one quantifiable thing in your life that you can control. It is the only thing you can control. Be in faith, not unbelieving. And be trusting because He is faithful. In all your relationships, do not forsake trust. Trust is faith from me to you, you to me, and you to you. Trust is the faith of one man to another man. Do not forsake trust in your marriage and in your family: husband to wife, wife to husband, parent to child, young adult to parent, parent to young adult. If we stop trusting, Satan will bring corruption in the darkness, in the very place where the Lord Himself seeks to light our lamp.

Will you let your light shine? Will you dignify the darkness of trial, of difficulty and uncertainty? Will you hold onto trust? Will you hold on to love and never let it go? If you let go of trust, you will become bitter. Bitterness is a contaminant. It’s like a leaven that affects the whole lump. In your time of darkness and trial, purge out every contaminant and every attitude that wars against faith, wars against trust, wars against believing, wars against evil. And the arrows of the Almighty will penetrate your heart and He will illuminate your place. You will be the light of the world. Accept the fiery trial when it comes to your life and in the darkness of those times, have faith and believe. The Lord is speaking to you in the darkness. He will light your way and light your lamp. Dignify your light, dignify your life, dignify the fire of God in you and upon you. As you do, others will see your light and glorify God on account of you.

‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.’ Matt 5:14-16.

Author: David Falk | Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship TCF
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