A New Day

Sitting under the New Mexico sky, away from the glow of the city lights, I stare upward fascinated by the stars. It’s amazing to think that even during the day, the stars are still shining in heaven. We just can’t see them until it’s dark.

Sometimes it’s that way with God, too. As long as life is bright and cheery, we don’t really see Him — because we aren’t looking for Him. But when physical, emotional, or spiritual darkness comes, we seek Him desperately. Fortunately, Jeremiah 29:13 promises, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (NIV). Many times, the more extreme our circumstances are, the more clearly we see Him. In other words, the darker the night is, the brighter the light.

Every room in my house has a light. Some fixtures, like those in my dining room, are grand and glorious, illuminating the entire room through a shade of shimmering crystals. Other lights, like the lamp on my desk, serve a more practical purpose, enabling me to see better so I can do my work more efficiently. The light for which I am most grateful, however, is not the most beautiful or the most efficient. My most beloved light is the tiny blue nightlight guiding me to my bathroom in the middle of the night. When life is the darkest, literally or figuratively, I need light the most.

Even as an adult, I was afraid of the dark. As far as I could tell, there was nothing good about the night. It was cold, hard, and unfriendly. One day, however, as I was reading Genesis 1, I noticed the wording God used to describe the completion of each day of creation: “And there was evening and there was morning — the first day” (Genesis 1:5 NIV).

In Jewish culture, the day begins with the evening. As dusk transitions into night, the world grows dark, but then, just as night is at its darkest point, morning breaks into a new day. This mindset carries over to Western culture in our usage of the twelve-hour clock, with 12:00 a.m. (midnight) marking the beginning of a new day. Literally, a new beginning commences at the darkest time.

Spiritually, a new day means that God is stretching you, doing something fresh in you. Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” When you’re in the dark and you can’t seem to find your way, it’s easy to feel as if you’re lost in the wilderness. You may not know where you are, but God does. And He’s right there, too — encouraging you to draw near to Him, listen more carefully to Him, and not merely seek His ways, but seek Him.

When Jesus was in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), He was tempted by Satan. It was a hard time and a dark time. Although Jesus knew everything, He still ended up in a cruel place of temptation. Why? Because, as Matthew 4:1 (NIV) tells us, “Jesus was led by the Spirit …”

Although God is Light, He can use the darkness for His purposes. Sometimes, we have to be in the dark to see the Light more clearly. If you’re at that point right now, take heart. When it seems like life can’t get any darker, a new day is on the way.