Walk in Darkness
or kindle a fire
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:10-11
Isaiah is showing two potential ways of dealing with days of uncertainty and doubt. He pictures it as “walking in darkness,” and “having no light.” Oddly enough, this falls upon those who “fear the Lord and obey the voice of his servant.” This seems to be at odds with Jesus' statement in the Gospel of John where he said, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of light.”
I think John Gill was correct in saying Jesus was speaking of “the darkness of unregeneracy, not knowing who they are, where they are, or where they are going.” He goes on to say that those who follow Christ “shall not walk in the darkness of unbelief…nor in the darkness of error; but in the truth of the gospel…though they may walk at times without the light of God’s countenance…”
What Gill is saying is that though we walk in the light of the gospel, we may at times experience “a frowning providence.” We may have days where we are uncertain about what to do, where we aren’t sure about what will come next, and even feel as though danger or disaster seems to lurk around every dark corner of our lives. That is the kind of darkness Isaiah is speaking of. And Isaiah says it comes upon those who fear the Lord and obey his voice.
It is in that kind of darkness that we will face a moment of choosing. Will we be content to walk in the darkness and trust the Lord to guide our steps, or will our fear and unbelief convince us to kindle a fire? Will we make our torches to light our path, or will we rely on God to direct our steps though we can’t even see what we are walking into?
Isaiah’s wise counsel is to trust in the name of the Lord and rely on our God. Don’t give in to the temptation to kindle your own fire, follow your heart, or let someone other than God be your guide.
