When darkness hangs like rain clouds overhead, believing in future sunny days isn’t easy. Through the example of a weather pattern, God taught me about His power to bring me from darkness to light.
On a bleak December morning, I had resigned myself to indoor activities despite my desire to take a walk for a stretch and fresh air. Nothing about the sky hinted that a brighter day was only a few hours away. All morning, I listened to the rain beating against the windows. Ominous clouds dominated the sky. The weather forecaster had made a bold claim: the sun would come out at two o’clock. How could anyone predict such an exact about-face in weather?
Eventually, the rain stopped, and although the roads were still wet and possibly slick with the remnants of ice, I put on my coat and headed out for a short walk. The sky looked as bleak and grey as it had while it was raining. However, forty minutes into my walk, the sun had brightened the sky.
“Okay, I stand corrected,” I admitted to myself.
With blue skies and billowy white clouds overhead, I thought about those who had lived in darkness until they encountered Jesus. He brought light into their experiences and changed their lives. Two particularly dramatic darkness-to-light encounters immediately came to mind.
Lifelong Darkness into Light
The first is a story of a man healed unconventionally. In John 9, Jesus encounters a man who was blind from birth. Having all the power of heaven at His disposal, Jesus could have instantly cured the man of his blindness. He could have healed from afar as he spoke life into the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13). But Jesus healed in a personal way on this occasion. He desires wholeness in our lives. Jesus made a poultice of dirt and spit, then anointed the man’s eyes with the clay He had made. When the man washed in the pool of Siloam as instructed, his sight was restored. From that point onward, the man’s testimony is, “I was blind, but now I see.” He had moved from lifelong darkness into light.
Transformed from Darkness into Light
Speaking of blindness, another account talks of an extraordinary experience on the road to Damascus. Acts chapter 9 opens with strong words about Saul, a man who was known for threatening and murderous actions against Jesus’ followers. Yet, his conversion is one of the Bible’s most dramatic instances of darkness to light. While on a mission against the followers of Christ, Saul is struck blind on the road to Damascus. During his blindness, Saul’s conversation with Jesus shows the grace and mercy He offers even when we work against Him.
However sincere we might be in our wisdom, God can bless us with His light when our hearts are open to receive it. God brought Saul from darkness to light. Saul’s mission changed, and he became a formidable disciple of Christ. God changed his name to Paul. His mission changed through the power of the Son of Righteousness, the light of the world.
God’s Perfect Timing
As I walked back to my father’s house, the sun shone so brightly that I began to feel warm under all the winter layers I wore. The rain had stopped entirely by 2 o’clock, as the forecaster had promised. I immediately thought about when God stopped the rain after forty days and nights. Just as Noah witnessed God’s perfect timing, we can believe in His promises.
No matter how long we have been troubled by darkness or rain, Jesus brings hope. A man blind from birth received sight. An enemy of God received a new mission. And through obedience, Noah became a pillar of faith. Are your skies cloudy? God’s sun will shine in your life, and bring you from darkness to light. He is always on time.
Let’s encourage each other:
