Just the other day a special friend of mine was recalling a difficult season that she walked through a few years back. She said it was “so dark I could barely get out of bed in the mornings.” At the time she was living in sunny southern California, but the sunshine didn’t help. For her, it was still dark.

Sometimes life goes dark on all of us.  When it does, it can be very disorienting. Perspective lost, we can barely make out our next step. Like a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night, all we can do is carefully feel our way along.

But thank God, He does not leave us in the darkness. It may feel like He is far away, but He is near. And through His word He provides the direction that we need to confidently take our next step forward, even in the dark.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

The U.S. military has recently developed advanced new goggles based on thermal technology that will allow soldiers to see, even when they can’t. The goggles will allow them to see their targets through smoke and darkness, and even allow them to shoot accurately around a corner.

Even though they cannot see something with their own eyes, with help they can see it. How cool is that.

Praise God, He has provided us with our own “goggles” of sorts. When life goes dark, it  is the Spirit (II Corinthians 2:10-12) and the Word (II Timothy 3:16-17) that have an amazing way of shedding light on life so that we can see what we need to see on any given day – about ourselves, about our situations, and most importantly, about God.

If you’re going through a dark time, be encouraged in knowing that God is with you, and be sure to use your “goggles” so that you can see through the darkness.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.