It is dark in this place.

It is dark in this place.

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me. 

(Psalm 13, NIV)

  In our lives we have all been in places where we could not see. The darkness was penetrating and we have stumbled into things groping in despair to find our way even, in familiar surroundings. If we have no access to a light source or a guide, we remain in a desperate way as we try to negotiate our way.

    We can feel that same desperation when we are in places of depression and sadness. At times we blindly stumble, trying to negotiate our way out of through that darkness as well. Sometimes the place of sadness comes from the action of others that would harm us and sometimes it comes from events and circumstances in our lives that overwhelm us with darkening hopelessness.

    There are even times when we seek light and guidance from our Shepherd and our God and we don’t find assistance in our moment of need. We must wait and trust in the security of our LORD’s unfailing love, as we stumble around for a time, groping in the darkness of the unknowing, unclear and unseen. It may seem hopeless and significant as we cling to simple remembrances of the true and unfailing but our Lord will again come to us. He is faithful and He does not fail even if we cannot see anything in the darkness of the moment.

Dear Lord … help me to trust in your unfailing love as a guiding light that will come again to me, even as I stumble through this moment of darkness.  I praise you as I remember your love for me.  You have always been good to me, so very good to me.  Amen.