As a pilot, I can tell you that the first few times you are flying blind, it can be pretty intimidating. You must use only your instruments for navigation because the weather is preventing you from actually seeing where you are flying. Because the mist or clouds become so thick, your navigation instruments become your eyes and you have to trust them.
Life can kind of be that way sometimes, even for believers. I think we have all been through those periods of life where we just can’t seem to connect to God and we don’t seem to feel His presence in the things we are doing. We pray, we read our Bible, we seek Christian counsel and yet there is that occasional feeling of “flying blind.”
Maybe you are facing a time like that right now or you have recently come through a period of seeming darkness in your spiritual life. The great thing about these difficult times is that Jesus is always there (even if we can’t truly sense Him) and His light always begins to shine through, often in unexpected ways.
Later on in Psalm 13 (verses 5-6), we see David’s key to getting through times of spiritual darkness. He said, “But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” This is reminiscent of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail singing praises to God even after they had been beaten and chained — and all because they were serving God. That night, God sent an earthquake that rocked the jail and Paul and Silas were able to see their jailer come to know Christ because of the suffering they had endured.
Spiritual darkness happens. But there is often a reason and a godly purpose. It’s no fun and we want out of these situations fast. But we must remember, as David reminds us, to trust in God’s mercy and salvation. In the darkness, we must do two things: (1) pray that at the end of the darkness, God will be glorified and that you will be made stronger and wiser in Him, and (2) stay in the Word, remembering that God’s Word is a Light for our path (Psalm 119:105).
Don’t lose heart in troubling times, friends. And never forget or lose focus on what II Corinthians 4:6 tells us: “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” You are never alone, no matter how dark things may seem!