Walking In Darkness

“Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD And rely upon his God.” (Isaiah 50:10, NKJV)

There is a kind of darkness so devoid of illumination that it is impossible to see your hand lifted just inches in front of your face. I learned this once again while spelunking in the caves at Devil’s Den in Northwest Arkansas. There are several there. One, in particular, is fierce in its darkness, especially the further you dive into its abyss. A group of us explored deeper until the walls became so tight that to go further required crawling. A few of the younger people with us were capable, let’s just say that I didn’t have the body to go any further so I waited. We had flashlights that lit our path. One direction was the crawl, the other was a deep drop, some 100 feet or so down, and 10 to 15 feet above. The battery-operated torch flooded the cave with brightness below. I moved its beam up and saw what looked like hundreds of bats resting securely upside down fastened to the cave’s ceiling. To my surprise, one, burst open its wings and floated through the large cavern, seemingly irritated by the sudden interruption of effulgence. 

The group left me and another person, who did not want to crawl, alone with only my flashlight. Not wanting to irritate any more of these beautiful creatures, I quickly switched the light off. It was dark. I mean so dark you could feel it. It was the kind of darkness of which nightmares were made. We could hear a few more bats take flight above us. The air was chilly, like in most caves, making it all the more frightening. I lifted my hand to my face and could not see it, I could only feel it when I touched my forehead. The only solution would be to bring back the illumination and point it in a direction where the creatures of the night would not be grieved. 

There is a darkness that lives inside of a man. Sometimes that darkness comes from experiences such as trauma or suffering; sometimes self-inflicted difficulties. But it is still darkness. Cave-style darkness that creeps into the soul. This kind of darkness has the potential to destroy a man. The solution is to trust in the name of the LORD. What we do not do is trust in ourselves.

“Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled— This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment.” (Isaiah 50:11, NKJV)

Darkness has a tendency to overcome and overwhelm all who are effected by it’s icy embrace. But a light that leads nowhere is worse than darkness; it shrouds its true destination. The caverns of hell are aligned with the smoldering of this kind of burn. Trusting in my light, my fire, will bring nothing but torment. Even though there is a fire and ‘sparks,’ the darkness will not go away.

The light that pierces the darkness is Christ, himself. He illuminates the heart of the man who trusts in him and the enemy must run. The soul of that man becomes incandescent, pure, full of lambency and hope. Turn on the light, walk in that light, find everything you need in Jesus.