Finding Light in the Darkness

Finding Light in the Darkness

A season of lowliness and humility as we consider our sin. A period of vulnerability that comes at a time when the wintry season matches the spiritual mood. We may be beckoned to echo one of Jesus’ trials by wandering in a figurative wilderness, but our physical surroundings might heighten this time of lowliness: the celebration of Jesus’ birth has ended, and we are left with cold, gray days and confined indoors in relative darkness. As someone particularly prone to seasonal depression, I know that it can be very difficult in both winter and Lent to imagine new life blooming out of the ground of our helplessness anytime soon.
I’ve learned more in this struggle of the value of a dark season of waiting and quiet: it is a time to reflect on the patterns of our lives, a time to rest and regain strength for more active seasons, a time to appreciate the unique comforts of confined quarters.

Making the Most of the Long Months
- We tend to comfort ourselves with practices that are like security blankets: curling up with a good book or warming up with a mug of hot chocolate. Do you have a spiritual security blanket—a quiet habit of prayer, a time of Bible study, a regular activity at church? Now’s a good time to wrap it around yourself.
- This Lent season, rather than depriving yourself of something, add a practice like a daily devotional to your normal routine.
- Use this time to re-establish bonds with those you are close to: friends, family, especially the people under your own roof. Maybe your kids need homework help, or your spouse needs more time to talk. What can you do to better enjoy your time together?
There is life still pulsing in this quiet time. Through God’s help it will be nurtured and it will grow.


“. . .Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there . . . even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.”—Psalm 139:7-12