I did a quick study of the word Darkness. There are three types of Darkness in the Old Testament.
One use of the word ‘darkness’ is when the Lord used darkness as a shield to ‘hide’ the Israelites from Pharaoh at the Red Sea. He sent darkness between the two armies to protect His people.
Another use of ‘darkness’ is when the Lord came down on Mt. Sinai and also in Psalm 18 as He descends His throne to come down in answer our cries for help. This darkness infers dark clouds or a gathering of water clouds. I believe that in these two incidences (and others) because He is so Holy, this dark cloud protects us from the burning fire of His Holiness just as the veil in the Tabernacle protected the people. His presence is so holy that we would die, so he uses these dark clouds of protection for us as He descends into the earth realm.
The third type of darkness is totally different. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines it as “misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness.” It was this darkness that covered the face of the waters in Genesis 1. It was this darkness that covered Egypt with a plague. This type of darkness cannot be penetrated by our light, a candle, flood light, or even the light of our own life. There is only one light that penetrates this darkness.
Genesis 1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
So, dear friends, when your world looks very dark with misery, sorrow or pain, even death, our God is still speaking LIGHT!
Jesus is “the Light”. In Him there is NO darkness at all! And he has come to release that light into the world of darkness, just like Genesis 1.
Today, embrace His light! God said about the Light, “It is good.” Remember, sorrow (darkness) may endure the night, but JOY (His Light) always comes in the morning! Be blessed with light today!
Ruthie, thank you for this post. The last season of my life has been pretty dark as I have gone through a wilderness. Your post shines a “light” upon my situation and gives me hope. I am beginning to see the light more and more but it was pretty dark there for a while. You and Billy Joe are such a bright light for Jesus. Thank you for being who you are.
Thank you, Michael. We love you and see His glory in your life! Your message of ‘Hope” was a blessing to me this morning. I recommend your blog “Journey of Grace Ministries” is a great place for encouragement!
Thank goodness for light! I don’t like darkness. And especially thank goodness for THE Light!! Very good post Ruthie!
Hello, i ended here as i was searching for image picturing light. It was delightfull to read this.
Thank you.