Light and the certainty of illumination

Ask a child to describe what light is, and one answer might be, “It’s what lets us see!” That simple logic is one of the reasons light so often appears to point to spiritual understanding in the Bible. Spiritual understanding enables us to discern God’s presence in our lives—expressed in health, harmony, and love—even as we may be struggling with a toilsome, and oftentimes turbulent, sense of existence.  

It is possible for us to walk out of darkness when we turn to the spiritual light that illumines the way. In fact, as even a child knows, right where there is light, there is no darkness. Through spiritual light, divine illumination, the way is laid out in front of us plain as day, waiting for us to walk that way.  

So why wouldn’t one always want to turn toward that spiritual light, open up to it, and walk in it? One reason is apparent to anyone who has been through a difficult trial: Sometimes darkness can seem so dark that we think we cannot even find the light. The trials and tribulations of life can sometimes seem overwhelming and oppressive; old practices we’re accustomed to relying on let us down; and the loving embrace of friends or family may at times feel distant or irretrievable. At times like this, one might wonder if there is light at all. We might find our hearts reaching out like the Psalmist who wrote, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord” (Psalms 130:1).