There is a line in Rend Collective’s song ‘True North’ which says, ‘I will follow You into the dark, dark, dark.’ It’s a very jolly song, so the line slips into your consciousness without at first seeming incongruous, but of course, it’s a revolutionary notion. Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12) and the Bible spends so much time talking about God and light that the idea of following God into the dark seems almost blasphemous. The light shines in the darkness; the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5) Is it ever true that Christians must follow God into the darkness?
If we look at the whole story arc of Scripture, we will see that darkness is not antithetical to faith. Many saints have grappled with God in the darkness. Job spoke of ‘the place of no return, the land of gloom and utter darkness, the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.’ (Job 10:21-22) Jeremiah, living in the desperate times of defeat and exile, spoke of God making him walk in darkness rather than light (Lam 3:2) and said, ‘He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.’ (Lam 3:6) The psalmist said, ‘You crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness.’ (Ps 44:19) Heman the Ezrahite went so far as to say, ‘Darkness is my closest friend.’ (Ps 88:18)
These experiences of darkness are not, therefore, either unusual or to be feared. Most of us fear the darkness to some extent. It is disorientating, difficult to navigate and extremely tiring. Everything seems so much worse in the dark, as anyone who has lain awake at night fretting and worrying can testify. But Scripture reminds us that ‘even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.’ (Ps 112:4) We may be called to follow God into the dark at times; we may be living through tumultuous times when we simply do not know what is going to happen. Micah reminds us that ‘though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.’ (Micah 7:8) We can still know the Light of the world in the midst of darkness; we can still fear no evil in the darkest valley. (Ps 23:4)
