Devotional: God is in Our Darkness

The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:21 ESV)

I am intrigued by the fact that God was in the thick darkness.  There are other passages of Scripture that talk about God dwelling in darkness.

He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water. (Psalm 18:11 ESV)

He made darkness around him his canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water. (2 Samuel 22:12 ESV)

 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. (Psalm 97:2 ESV)

I find great comfort in the fact that God dwells in my darkness.  There are times when the trials of life seem to envelope us in a shroud of darkness.  We don't know which way to turn and may feel trapped in the darkness.

We may feel like the writer of Lamentations.

I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago. (Lamentations 3:1, 2, 6 ESV)

The end of Psalm 18 gives great encouragement for us when we are surrounded by darkness.

For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18:28-30 ESV)