Words of Encouragement/Inspiration on Today!
Some years ago, a British poet by the name of Minnie Louise Haskins published a small volume of poetry The Desert, which included the poem “God Knows”, originally written in 1908, to which she added the famous preamble to create the poem that today is commonly known as “The Gate of the Year“.
This is the poem in its entirety:
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
So heart be still: What need our little life Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.
God knows. His will Is best. The stretch of years Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision, Are clear to God. Our fears Are premature; In Him,
All-time hath full provision.
Then rest: until God moves to lift the veil From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmises God’s thought around His creatures Our mind shall fill.
Affirming our spiritual identity
When darkness overwhelms our souls in this very present and evil generation, we are not to give totally to its enticements. Though it seems that the very wrath of God [to a varying degree] is being spilled upon our lives daily, thus in our coming and going, as the light of day looks as though it is night, we are not to be deceived into thinking that we are alone, nor are you without hope in the direction of your journey.
The good news is that Darkness and Light are the same unto our Loving Creator.” [Gleaned from Psalm 139:11-12]
Darkness
“Darkness” in The Holy Scriptures connotes everything that is anti-God: the wicked ( Prov 2: 13-14; 1 Thess 5:4-7 ), judgment ( Exod 10: 21; Matt 25:30 ), and death ( Psalm 88:12 ).
Salvation brings light to those in darkness ( Isa 9:2 ). Although darkness is opaque to man, it is transparent to God ( Psalm 139:12 ). Indeed, God can veil himself in darkness at moments of great revelation ( Deut 4: 11; 5: 23; Psalm 18:11 ).
God Rules the Darkness.
The biblical view of darkness and light offers a unique contrast. There is no thought that darkness is equal in power to God’s light. The absolute, sovereign God rules over the darkness and the powers of evil. This is evident in several ways.
First, God knows the darkness. He knows where it is ( Job 34:22 ) and what it contains ( Dan 2:22 ).
Second, God rules over the darkness because he created it ( Isa 45: 7; cf. Amos 4: 13; 5:8 ).
Third, God uses the darkness for his own purposes: to hide himself from the sight of men ( Psalm 18:11 ; 1 Kings 8:12 ) and to bring his judgment on evildoers ( Deut 28:28-29 ; Matt 8:12 ; 22:13 ), evil nations ( Eze 30:18-19 ), and false prophets ( Jer 23:12 ; Micah 3:6 ; Rev 16:10 ).
Finally, God rules over the darkness eschatologically. The time of God’s ultimate judgment, the day of the Lord, is portrayed in both the Old Testament and New Testament as a day of darkness ( Joel 2: 2; Amos 5:18 Amos 5: 20; Zeph 1: 15; Matt 24: 29; Rev 6:12-17 ).
Darkness and Crucifixion.
It is against this background that the emphasis on darkness in the crucifixion scene may be understood. Luke records, “it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” ( 23: 44-45; cf. Matt 27: 45; Mark 15:33 ). While darkness often accompanies the conception of death in Scripture (cf. Job 10:21-22 ), darkness at the crucifixion scene displays God’s displeasure on humankind for crucifying his son. It also indicates God’s judgment on evil. But the torn curtain exhibits the opening of salvation to all through the death of God’s Son.
Final Darkness.
The Old Testament and New Testament describe the future of the ungodly in terms of eschatological darkness, symbolizing perdition ( 1 Sam 2: 9; Matt 22: 13; Jude 12-13 ). “Hell” and “pits of darkness” describe the fate of angels who sinned ( 2 Peter 2: 4; Jude 6 ).
But for believers darkness will be dispelled by the presence of the light of the glory of God ( Rev 21: 23-24; 22:5 ). It is only through the light of God in Jesus Christ that darkness can be dispelled.
Prophetic Spiritual Warning
Romans 1:19
Because of that which is known of God is manifest among them, for God did manifest it to them.
On this account, what may be well-known about the Supreme Creator and the Ruler of the universe is clearly apparent to all living-souls, by reason the Creator made it manifest to men and women.
That which is generally and universally known truths that are a natural revelation which is imprinted into the consciences of each living-soul by the Creator.
We are without any excuse, knowing what is the difference between right and wrong, moral to that which is evil! As Dietrich Bonhoeffer records in this writing, The Last Temptation,
“God punishes the godless man/woman by allowing them to be godless and allowing them their own rights and freedom, and as the godless perishes in this freedom, so God does not destroy Satan by an act of violence, but Satan must destroy himself.”
In this regard, Romans 1:18 communicates, different aspects of the wrath of God that we now are experiencing from heaven, exposing all impiety and unrighteousness of humanity, as living-souls are holding down the truth in unrighteousness.
God is and always has been justified in the punishment that we now must endure as the light from above in an effort to reveal against all the willful irreverence and injustice of the heart of the human race who in all their infections, hold down the absolute truth by wrongfulness.
Walking in The Light
“O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:5
In the New Testament, “walking in the light” is directly related to following the Master, who said,
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
While this verse does not directly say, “Walk in the light, i.e., the Master,” it does pointedly warn of doing the opposite; therefore, those who follow Jesus are “walking in the light.”
For a faithful follower to “walk in the Light” is, in practice to walk before the culture, while living one’s life as a witness. One’s lifestyle or way of life can be considered a “walk.”
The word also indicates progress. Walking is related to growth; it is taking steps toward maturity. “Light” in the Bible can be a metaphor for life, happiness, righteousness, or understanding.
The Bible is clear that light comes from the Lord God, the “Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17). He is the opposite of evil. Putting it all together, “walking in the light” means “growing in holiness and maturing in the faith as we follow the Lord.”
The apostle John repeatedly used the “light” metaphor in relation to the Messiah. For example, he writes that Jesus is “the true light that gives light to every man” (John 1:9).
In 1 John 1:7 he says, “If we walk in the light as He [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” In verse 5, John says that God’s very nature is light. Jesus, then, is the conduit or provider of light to the world.
Our biblical mandate is to live in the light God gives:
“Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). When we walk in the light, we cannot walk in darkness. Sin is left in the shadows as we let our light “shine before men” (Matthew 5:16). It is God’s plan for us to become more like Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
We are to live our lives faithfully and in total devotion toward pleasing God while permitting the Holy Spirit to mature us in our spirituality. This is the true essence of what it means to be “holy!”
“Holiness is not the way to Christ, but Christ is the way to holiness.”
-H.C. Mears-
The study material that was used to assist facilitate this blog post was Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Darkness. Walking in the Light content was gleaned from GotQuestions.org. The Last Temptation: 160 Readings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, page 207, The Martyred Christian.
Brother Alonzo