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Background of Darkness

Notice these words of David as he thanks the Almighty for all the deliverances and benefits that he had experienced throughout the whole of his life – a life filled with many dark moments:

“Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse saith, And the man who was raised on high saith, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, And his word was upon my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me: One that ruleth over men righteously, That ruleth in the fear of God, He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, A morning without clouds, When the tender grass springeth out of the earth, Through clear shining after rain” (2 Sam. 23:1-4).

Is not the light of a lamp much more welcome at midnight than at noon? Scientists would be quick to tell us that the lamp doesn’t really shine any more brightly when it’s dark than when it’s light – the darkness only makes it appear so by its contrast. But emotionally, what a difference the darkness makes! Without the background supplied by the darkness, we’d hardly love the light as we do.

Perhaps this explains why the lives of some seem to have more depth, contrast and brilliance than others. Those who’ve battled to maintain a luminous faith through serious failure or significant sorrow, do not have a faith that is any more “real” than another’s, but it certainly “seems” so among the background of difficulty. Are we not drawn to this type of luminous faith?

The attractive power of David’s passionate love for God shines with such splendor partly because of the background of failures from which he had to recover. The fleeing for his life from the hand Saul, the sin with Bathsheba, and the pain of Absalom’s rebellion are all a part of the background of darkness that allowed the light of faith to shine for all to see.

And consider a man like Paul. He never staggered morally, but here was a man whose desire for God blazed with a special brightness because of the long, dark years of his lonely travail as an apostle. The struggle only made his hope more precious. The apostle Paul declared,

“For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8).

The suggestion here isn’t that sorrow should be invited into our lives. But when it makes an appearance, as it will in the life of anyone who dwells on this planet, we can make it our aim to shine all the more radiantly against the dark background that has developed. Our Lord was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3), and we love Him dearly for having tasted the salt of our tears. Unlike Him, our sorrows are often the consequence of our own misdeeds. But whether the darkness is of sin or some other sorrow, we can seek God in such a way as to brighten our character with the brilliance of tested faith.