Feeling Your Way Through A Dark Place

Jan and I have been on the road for a few days speaking at a conference in one city then preaching in a church in yet another city. When we travel like this our hosts reserve a nice hotel room for us so we can be fresh and rested. We have stayed in a lot of different hotels over the years. Waking up in a dark and unfamiliar space can be a strange and disorienting experience.

This morning, I got up early to prepare for the coming day. I am scheduled to speak three times today so I wanted to review my notes. As I carefully walked through the dark room, I was using my arms to feel my way through the hidden furniture. I finally made my way to where I thought the desk was located. I was using the memory from the hotel where we stayed last night as my mental navigation map. When I arrived at what I thought was the writing desk, it was actually the couch. In the darkness I said, “It’s the wrong hotel!” and began laughing out loud. I realized the desk was on the opposite side of the room. I finally felt my way through the darkness to place my hand on the light switch of the desk lamp and turned on the light. The room’s layout became obvious in the illumination.

Some of you are living this season of your life like I did this morning when I was trying to find my way through the darkness. You are moving through relationships and circumstances not seeing clearly all that is around you. Nothing is familiar. You are moving through life with your arms outstretched in faith feeling your way forward. You may not be able to see anything at this point but you are not without hope. In what appears to be a stumbling movement forward, God still has the ability to get you to where you need to be. You may bump into a few things along the way but you will finally arrive. Upon your arrival, God will show you how to turn on the lights to reveal the profound placement He was able to accomplish in your life when you simply trusted Him and kept moving forward in faith.

When I touched the leather surface of the couch, I knew it was not where I needed to be. In that moment I remembered the actual layout of the room and knew where to turn in the darkness. This is about to happen to some of you. In the darkness, you touched something that told you this was not where you belonged. You realized you were in the wrong place or not in the right relationship. That revelation was a gift from God. With a new sense of direction, you will be able to turn around in the darkness to begin moving in the right direction to where you know the light switch awaits your arrival. The light switch of revelation is just ahead in the darkness. Keep believing and keep moving.