Never in the Dark

A scripture prayer for you from the New Living Translation:

I could ask the darkness to hide me
      and the light around me to become night—
     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
   To you the night shines as bright as day.
      Darkness and light are the same to you.

                                Psalm 139:11-12

Have you ever had a day where you felt like you had been thrown into a hole and covered up in a place that was completely dark? 

I have.

I used to run from being in that place.  Then I realized that running does me no good because the feeling that is not “faced” head on just becomes hidden feelings that manifest themselves in another way. 

We need to face our feelings of being in the dark.

I’ve read this Psalm for years and took this part to mean God can see me in the dark. 

I realized when I prayed into this Psalm that my cultural tunnel vision has been covering the truth of who God is. 

Here’s the thing…

When I am in the dark, God is there WITH ME.

God doesn’t look into my darkness from the outside…He lives it from within.  God feels my fear and loss of hope, and from within shines His light on my fear with his love.  (read I John 4:18). God’s light from within also gives hope.  In addition to that, we are building character and that gives hope (see Romans 5:1-5). 

As you pray the scriptures, you will remember other scriptures that build on what you are praying about.

Just a word about the last line…when I prayed that I was reminded that in God there is no darkness – AND that’s because wherever God goes, there is light.  You are a child of light because God is IN you.  So, your darkness is not dark because God’s light is there. 

The most important take–away I had from praying into these two verses is that even when I feel like I am in a dark lonely place, God is there with me, feeling my feelings with me.  I am not alone.  God suffers with me. God’s light is in me and surrounds me.  When we go through times of darkness, realizing that God is there WITH us makes all the difference. 

All the difference in the world.