Hope in the midst of darkness is real.
Every night stars cover the sky. Their presence reminds us of the sovereign God who hung each one in its place, and calls each one by name (Psalm 147:4, Isaiah 40:26). The moon and the stars show us that the darkest night is not without some light. They make tangible reminders that spots of hope shine in the darkest places.
One of the darkest periods of my life came with my husband’s cancer diagnosis. Along with the initial shock, questions pummeled us. Where would we go for treatment? How much would he suffer? How much would I suffer watching someone I love go through something so difficult? Would he survive? We both knew the outcome could be much different than what we wanted it to be. Though my husband and I had been married for a lot of years, it was still too short a time–we weren’t ready for it to be over.
But an astounding thing happened in the midst of the shadows. As we groped for answers through the darkness of uncertainty, we became more aware of the light of God’s grace. The light of God’s grace overshadowed our awareness of the cancer itself. In the midst of a difficult time, our relationship to God brought light into a dark place.
First, we truly began to experience the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7). Our circumstances did not warrant peace. My husband had stage 4 cancer. Yet we felt a peace and reassurance that we could not explain in any natural way. We drew encouragement from Scripture. We were very aware of God’s presence as we trusted in His sovereignty and His goodness. We experienced His guidance as we sought medical help and made decisions. We felt His love through the support of caring friends. His light shone into our lives, with a greater intensity than we had ever before experienced. It pushed aside the darkness and filled us with life-giving hope, regardless of the outcome. Whatever happened, we knew God would carry us through.
I am aware of the power of God’s light. I have learned that His light overcomes the darkness we encounter. I have experienced it in real and substantial ways. That is not to say that I am never discouraged. In fact, I am capable of getting myself into quite a funk. But I have not yet been in a funk so great that Scripture and prayer cannot defeat it. Hope in the midst of darkness is very real.
As it turned out, God healed the cancer. The treatments were effective, and my husband has been cancer free for several years. But the greater healing was what God did in our minds and spirits as we learned to trust Him when we didn’t know what was ahead.
When I look away from whatever causes me momentary grief, to the God who is the Light of the world, the darkness disappears. Hope shines.
Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Isaiah 50:10 ESV
How have you experienced hope in the midst of darkness? Please leave a comment below.
Blessings,
Phyllis
Copyright 2025 Phyllis L. Farringer
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Although I do not believe God causes terrible things to happen to us, He can show us His everlasting mercy through situations.
Before I was born my Mom was diagnosed with M.S. and was given a short time to live. My parents trusted in Him and she was completely healed. The doctors called it a “miracle” but my parents knew it was God’s light.
The Holy Spirit is still with us, just as he is in the Bible!
Amen! God does reveal His everlasting mercy, in so many ways. Thank you, Ethan.
Thank you for sharing, Phyllis. God is my only hope, and THE LIGHT in everything.
Yes He is, Joni, thank you.