Faith in a Dark World

“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).

“There is no such thing as darkness,” said Malcolm Muggeridge, “only a failure to see.” But for a long while, Muggeridge himself lived with a spiritual darkness so oppressing, he attempted to take his own life. But in so doing, Muggeridge did an about-face that ultimately brought him into the light of faith. This one-time-cynic-turned-believer understood that the only thing that dispels darkness is light, and turning on the light in our lives spiritually is not always as simple as throwing a switch which immediately dispels the darkness.

As a high school boy, I used to practice the organ at St. John’s Cathedral. A caretaker would leave a side door unlocked, and early in the morning while it was still dark, I would slip into the building and turn on the beautiful pipe organ. As I practiced, the sun would slowly rise in the eastern sky, gradually turning the darkened windows into beautiful scenes depicting the stories in the Gospels. By the time I left, the rising sun had driven away the darkness, something I shall never forget.

Often, the darkness is driven back step-by-step as you come to understand you are not an animal, that life is not a matter of the survival of the fittest, and that the forces of light and darkness, good and evil, are locked in lethal combat. You are often caught in the midst of this struggle. You are a spectator, perhaps a participant, possibly a victim.

Muggeridge also noted, “Only atheists never doubt; the moment one believes, one automatically doubts, doubt being an integral part of faith.” So where do you find yourself? If the letters and e-mail which come to us from more than 100 countries of the world are a reflection of what people are really thinking, most of us are struggling. Many know that God is there but they don’t know how to connect with Him. The fact that He neither answers the phone nor responds to e-mail doesn’t mean He is not striving to touch your life at the point of your need.

The connection with God is called faith, and faith is something you put or place in something or someone, not something you do. It is responding to the invitation of Jesus, who said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NKJV). It is believing that the promises of God’s Word have your name attached to them, that this marvelous God who sent His Son into our world cares deeply about you, knows your name, and will respond to your heart cry.

1. W. Tozer wrote, “faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God.” It’s lifting your eyes from your pain, your trouble, your bewilderment to the face of God himself. And how should you expect God to respond? Again, said Tozer, “When we lift our inward eyes to gaze upon God[,] we are sure to meet friendly eyes gazing back at us, for it is written that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout all the earth” (A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p. 92).

            This means that when your eyes—the eyes of faith—connect with God, you can expect Him to look upon you with compassion, with concern, with care. How do I know? Two ways: First, that is exactly what the Bible says God will do and what He is, and then I can tell you both personally and based on the testimonies of thousands of people all over the world, in different countries and cultures, that God is more desirous of meeting you and touching your life than you are in having Him do so.

The darkness is real, but never forget it yields to the penetrating eyes of faith that brings light. And that’s good news in a bad-news world.

Resource reading: 2 John 2.