Are You Afraid Of The Dark???

Are you afraid of the dark?

Not actual darkness, but a darkness of culture.  A darkness of morality.  A darkness of peace.

When a just starting Christian community in Syria asked a flourishing Christian community in Lebanon how they might grow their community and make it flourish, the leader of the Lebanon group jokingly responded:

War.

A community of Christians spent fifteen years living in a land of war.  Out of war the people grew stronger in  their faith and convictions.  Our of war the believers arose strong, courageous, fearless.  Years of lack, years of danger, years of their daily lives being reduced to one thing--faith that God would provide for their needs and would take care of them in life, and if it be His will, death.

War.

A generation of young men forced out of their homes, refugees in a different land, living in absolute hell and poverty.  And yet the images of the Lost Boys in the refugee camps is one of thousands of young men dancing and singing before the Lord, holding fast to their faith that God would sustain them.  A nation of Christians holding fast to their faith, trusting that God would see them through the conflict, that they would one day be able to return home and rebuild their country.

I am not afraid of the dark.  Because I know that it is in the darkness where God's light shines the brightest.  When life is difficult, when my comfort and security are stripped away, there is nothing left to cling to except my unchanging, immovable God.  In the good times, God is.  In the bad times, God is.  In times of peace, God is.  In times of war, God is.  In the light, God is.  In the dark, God is.  I am not afraid of the dark because God is the same God He has always been and will always be despite the circumstances of my life and the world around me.

I have nothing to fear.