Darkness cannot be escaped

When life is dark, a light will shine for those who live rightly— those who are merciful, compassionate, and strive for justice. Good comes to all who are gracious and share freely; they conduct their affairs with sound judgment. (Psalm 112:4-5 VOICE)

Life gets dark sometimes, doesn't it? In those dark places we want even the tiniest bit of light to help us get through, don't we? We are never without light, even in the dark places of life! We might not understand why darkness is surrounding us, but we can trust that there will be light that shines through.

Those who are merciful, compassionate, and strive for justice shall always be assured of light shining on their path. Merciful people don't just receive mercy - they give it freely because they know how freely they have received it. Compassionate people don't just feel concern for the suffering they can see - they feel it deeply just because they know it exists.

Justice may seem like it is far away at times. There is plenty of injustice we see 'advertised' in the media, with very little justice actually celebrated. Life isn't always 'fair', is it? The tendency to compare what is 'fair' and 'unfair' is all around us. Some think it isn't 'equally balanced' and they would probably be right in that assumption. Justice doesn't mean life is always 'fair' - it means when life gets hard, we lean into God's grace and his love.

Life's dark places aren't meant to be our undoing - yet they can show us where we have been 'doing' stuff that we should probably stop doing. There is wisdom in learning what we can from those dark places. The one who follows hard after Christ isn't afraid of the darkness because they know Christ has overcome all the darkness and brings eternal light. 

We can count on this - God is looking for individuals who will continue to follow the light even when there is very little of it shining around them at the moment. The light of Christ will win out over the darkness of evil around us. It may not seem that way right now, but it will! The one thing we can count on is his unfailing love and the protection that ensures as we navigate the dark places in life.

We won't avoid darkness completely. The more conduct our affairs with sound judgment, relying upon his grace and love, the more we will be ready when it comes. Just sayin!