When Darkness Becomes Too Familiar
Darkness in Scripture isn’t just the absence of light; it’s the place where humanity feels lost, overwhelmed, and unsure of who they are. Many of us know what that feels like. We wrestle with identity questions, grief that has frozen something inside us, or lies we’ve carried so long that they feel like truth. Sometimes we avoid darkness; sometimes we fear it; and sometimes we grow strangely comfortable with it…so comfortable we stop noticing how heavy it is. Darkness can show up as addiction, hidden shame, bitterness, despair, or the quiet ache of feeling like we’ll never measure up. If we’re honest, we all walk through some shade of darkness at different points. But darkness was never meant to define the people God created us to be.
“The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2
Even in the very beginning, darkness wasn’t the end; it was the place where God began to move. Before God spoke a single word, His Spirit was already hovering, already present, already working. That same truth stretches into our own stories: darkness may be real, but it is not empty. God is never absent from the places that feel most chaotic or confusing. The heaviness we carry is not proof of abandonment; it’s often where His presence is quietly gathering momentum. Our darkness may be the beginning of the story, but it is never the conclusion God writes.
Question/Challenge
What familiar darkness have you allowed to shape you, and what would it look like to invite God to hover over that place today?