How to Find God’s Peace When Darkness Falls

Oh we all feel it… how the tender days in which we live leave us longing for peace. Where can we find the inner calm our souls crave? My friend, Grace Fox, answers this universal question in her new book, Names of God: Knowing Peace. A career missionary, full-time sailboat dweller, and grandma to fourteen, Grace—a woman who humbly lives up to her name—inspires hope, courage, and transformation through God’s Word in audiences around the globe. With transparency, warmth, and wisdom, she invites you to join her on a path of discovery that leads to knowing God by name and, thus, experiencing His peace even when life is hard. It’s a delightful joy to welcome Grace to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Grace Fox

True confession:

Peace was the last thing I felt as a child when my mother asked me to fetch a jar of home-canned peaches or pears from the basement.

Reaching the pantry meant first walking through two other dark rooms. When I turned on the lights as I entered, presto!

The darkness disappeared.

All was well until I retraced my steps, and my mind convinced me that bad guys lurked there. I was afraid that the moment I turned off the lights in each room, they would sneak up in the darkness and grab me. I raced up those stairs faster than a spook can say, “Boo!”

I don’t fear bad guys in the basement anymore, but my imagination still messes with me on occasion. Does yours try to trick you into believing untruths about the dark?

If so, join the club.

Pastor David Jeremiah writes, “Darkness does something to a place, doesn’t it? It distorts. It becomes a canvas for the imagination. The good news is that shadows are only the deflection of light. They can frighten, but they can do no harm.”

““Hard times tend to override the brain to focus on fear, losses, and anxieties. That is why in the darkest times you need to be the most grateful.“

Hold tight to Dr. Jeremiah’s wisdom. When your imagination begins to splatter chaos and fear across your canvas, remember that you belong to Yahweh Ori (the LORD is my light).When you face a difficult situation or an unknown future, call on him to turn your darkness into light. Ask him to help you take the following actions, so you can appropriate the gift Jesus promised: “peace of mind and heart” (John 14:27 NLT).

Reframe your view of dark places

Our human bent wants to avoid the dark (both literal and symbolic) and all things hidden there (both real and imagined). We want to escape it to avoid danger and pain, but God’s Word says, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4 NLT).

I once went caving with my husband and youngest daughter. The prospect of navigating cramped, wet spaces scared the willies out of this sunshine-and-wide-open-spaces girl, but I put on my brave face.

Thankfully, an experienced guide led our adventure. At one point, he told us to turn off our headlamps. “You’ll experience total dark,” he said.

He was right—I literally could not see my hand in front of my face.

Then we flicked on our headlamps again and pushed forward. Minutes later, the narrow passage opened into a room in which the walls glittered like a star-studded night sky. The moment’s magic filled me with awe. I’d heard about subterranean wonders like this, caused by water droplets inside the cave, but seeing one with my own eyes made me realize the beauty I would have missed if I’d stayed above ground.

If I’d not entered the dark, I would never have discovered the beauty hidden in its depths. Let’s not dread the dark or consider it our enemy. Instead, let’s count it as an opportunity to mature our faith and learn to know God as manifest through his name Yahweh Ori.

Remember to give thanks

Catherine Hart Weber, PhD., writes, “Hard times tend to override the brain to focus on fear, losses, and anxieties. That is why in the darkest times you need to be the most grateful.”

Giving thanks is easy when the sun shines, but not so much when darkness surrounds us. That’s when we need to practice this reminder: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

Focusing on our fears causes our brain’s amygdala to alert us to danger. Our body reacts by releasing stress hormones throughout our bloodstream and triggering the fight, flight or freeze response. Feelings of anger and anxiety rise.

Conversely, focusing on things for which we’re grateful silences the alarm and flushes the stress hormones from our system. Giving thanks raises levels of serotonin and dopamine, chemicals associated with pleasure and contentment. These things combined leads to our experiencing joy, harmony, and peace.

So—let’s practice.

What’s one thing for which you’re thankful today?

Recall biblical truth

In most cases, we can’t see what God is doing in the dark, and our limited understanding can lead to skewed perspectives. We assume the worst, and our beliefs influence our behavior.

An example of this is when Mary went to Jesus’s tomb the day after he died. She peered into the cave, realized his body was gone, assumed someone had stolen it, and felt hopeless.

In reality, his body was missing because he’d fulfilled his promise to rise from the dead. Jesus appeared in that moment and asked, “Why are you crying?” (John 20:15) His question helped Mary understand that she had believed untruths, and the question gave her a fresh perspective.

When we’re worried, discouraged, or in despair, let’s ask ourselves, Why am I feeling this way?

What do I believe to be true about my situation?

Do my beliefs align with the actual truth about my situation?

Answering honestly helps us identify inaccurate thinking and regain proper perspective.

Perhaps that cave—the place we fear most—is not the end of the story.

Perhaps it’s the beginning of something amazing God wants to do in and through us.

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