Faith in the Dark

Do you know how it is when you go from a well lit room to a dark one? For a moment while your eyes adjust you have your hands stretched out in front of you trying to feel your way around so you don’t bump into anything. I experience this every night before bed when I leave our bright bathroom and enter our unlit bedroom.I kind of know where things are, so I try and stay on the same path, but little surprises can always pop-up.

This is how I believe we can sometimes describe faith. There are some dark times in our lives when we can’t feel our way around. We search for the right path and hope not to bump into something that will hurt. But it happens sometimes. For me, I came to Christ at the young age of 6 but I have gotten lost in the dark several times since then. As a teen, I gave up on God because it wasn’t cool to be a Christian. I stopped praying and attending church. I had some rough times then. After an unplanned pregnancy, I began to search for God again, and the light came back on. I cried out to Him for help and He was there.

As an adult, when hard times came, I began to doubt a loving God existed. I questioned why I was having so many hard times. I tried to hide in the dark, but I discovered even if you are surrounded by friends and family, it gets lonely in the dark. I was missing something. Slowly, as I began searching again for what was missing, I realized it was God. Faith gets me through all the tough times. Knowing I have a God I can count on helps me. When no one else listens, He does. When no one else sees my tears, He does. When I can’t get out of the bed in the morning, He gives me a push. He wants the best for me. As I realize all this, the darkness starts to get lighter. I can see what I am suppose to be doing. I can see where to go, who to help, and why I am here.

Faith is not about a well-lit path with everything easily laid out for you. You are not always sure of the way to go, and sometimes there are bumps that hurt. Some bumps are big while others are small. No matter the size or pain of the bump, you keep going. If I let each bump on my path stop me, I would not be where I am today. I have had well-meaning people hurt me. I have probably hurt others. We are all human and it is bound to happen. Tragic things happen in life. We live in an imperfect world where bad things happen. Young children get killed, babies die, loved ones leave us too soon. The list goes on and on. In one year, I faced so many different disappointments that it started to suffocate me. The light started getting darker as I focused on the bad. We have to search for the good. It’s there if only we will look. Miracles may not happen in front of our eyes every day. But there are so many small ones we miss when we don’t look. Trees growing in the desert, getting a job in a tough job market, and having a family to enjoy the good times with. These are only a few of the small miracles that take place everyday.

Faith is more like a dark room at first. You have to enter it, hands surrendered. You have to walk into it not knowing exactly where you are going, but trusting that you will begin to see more as you continue on the path. You keep moving no matter what gets in the way and keep searching for the light. It will get brighter. It begins with asking God to reveal to you who He is—a simple step that takes faith. You can’t see God’s holy face, but He will show you who He is in everything around you.
Just as your eyes get adjusted to the dark and you begin to see what’s around you, faith happens in the same way. You first have to take that leap and walk into the dark room. Once you do, things will start to brighten. The more you focus and the more time you spend examining, the more you will see. It takes time, just like anything else in life. The reward is more than anything you will ever receive here on earth. You will spend eternity living in a perfect world, with no disappointments, no tears, and no death. You will never be in the darkness again.

So, the next time you go from a dark room to a well-lit one, take a moment and pause. Decide if you want to take that leap of faith or stay stuck in the dark.

Choices

Every day we face many choices. For me, most days start with, “Do I feel like getting out of bed?” I begin to ponder how many choices we all have to make. As I listen to a song by Francesca Batestelli, I learn even more about choices.

Do you realize that every choice you make says something about who you are? From the little choices like which shoes to wear all the way up to the big ones like; “ Is this the right guy for me?” Every decision you make has part of you in it.

I then started to think more deeply on this and on the choices I make. What do they say about me? What can others learn about me from the choices I make? I never realized just how important each decision in my life can be.

The lyrics of the song really spoke to my heart. Do the choices I make show that my heart is for Jesus, or do they show I am all about me? Do others see me as giving of myself unselfishly, or do they see me as doing things to get the glory?

As a believer, I know how important it is to show the world how the love of Christ makes me a better person. We are judged harshly by everyone. The people out there claiming to be Christians by spreading hate messages or predicting the end of the world cast a bad light on the true believers. I want my life to show the true Jesus. I want the world to see in me, a love that is for everyone. I want others to see my desire is to help every person I can because that’s what Jesus did.

Jesus chose to come down to earth in the form of man, to show the world He is the living Savior, and then to sacrifice His own life on the cross for me. All those choices are beyond my human comprehension. Giving up one’s life for undeserving, selfish people, who may not even chose to acknowledge Him for who He is. Now, that says a lot. Why would someone do that?

I believe it can be answered by one word—Love. So each day, I am deciding to make all my choices based on love. In doing that, I will follow Jesus and my heart will always be in the right place. Others will see my life as a person who loves them. That’s the choice I make.