Read Psalm 86. Today, we are going to look at how God rescues us from darkness. In Psalm 86:13, we read: “You love me so much and You placed Your greatness upon me. You rescued me from the deepest place of darkness, and You have delivered me from a certain death” (TPT). God is the only one who can rescue from the deepest places of darkness because, “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5b NIV).
The world is a dark, dark place. You do not have to look far to see the darkness. The world is broken. Evil is all around. There are evils around us that we cannot even imagine until we are faced with them on the news or in our own life. Yet, we cannot turn our eyes away from the evil and pretend it doesn’t exist, nor can we sit back and declare it is too strong to overcome. God’s Word tells us that there is evil in the world. God’s Word tells us that God can rescue us from even the deepest place of darkness. No matter the horrific act, no matter the abuse, no matter the sin, no matter the bitterness, no matter the hell on earth that you are going through— God is light and He can rescue you.
Recently, right in my own backyard, we have been made aware of darkness smack dab in the middle of town. We learned of a man and woman who have been charged with locking away a child in a torture chamber of darkness. Not only was the child not fed properly which led to malnourishment and death, but the couple closed up his room in darkness. From reports, we learned that the windows were covered with curtains that were taped down so no light could enter the room. Doors were locked, windows closed up. The couple allegedly did everything possible to keep this boy in the deepest place of darkness. The community continues to ask why. I ask why. This darkness is unfathomable to us.
I know that God has rescued this boy from his deepest place of darkness. I believe this boy is now in the presence of Light and he will never again see darkness. Why? Because God is faithful, because God is Light, because God promises to rescue His children and to bring them home to Him. We experience the evil, the darkness, here on earth. However, when we are with God, the darkness is no where. There is no darkness in the Light.
We may never understand the motives of why this child was kept in darkness, tortured, abused— yet we should recognize that there is darkness all around us. Some darkness only dims the light near us — some darkness even goes unnoticed. Some darkness is so dark it causes us horror and disgust like this particular darkness I mentioned. We can spend hours, days, etc. trying to understand the evil. I encourage you today to not focus on the darkness. There’s a big difference between ignoring the darkness and focusing on it. Both are not fruitful. Instead, focus on the Light— on Jesus Christ. Focus on Him, and He will reveal to you the darkness, He will empower you to overcome the darkness, He will guide you to His Light (1 Corinthians 4:5). Lord, please continue to move through the deepest places of darkness and rescue all that need rescued. Reveal to us the hidden things. To You alone be all honor, glory, and praise. Amen!
Tania Gutekunst 