Have you ever been to Alberta, Canada in October? I did once and and was shocked to look outside the window at 6 p.m. and see light. In British Columbia, where I spend most of my time, October is rainy and dark by 5 p.m. Therefore, six o’clock light is an enchanting thing to witness.
For those not living in the dark what this means is people go to work or school in the dark and come home in the dark. If you didn’t know better, you’d start to question the sun’s existence. If I’m honest sometimes I wonder this, even though I know better.
Day after day of darkness can lead to the winter blues, where everything feels “blah” and feels like it will last forever. There are ways to combat the blues though. For example: exercise, diet change, and sunlight simulators. These remedies can ease the effects of the lack of daylight in the darker days of winter—but what about spiritual dark days? Is there a light simulator for those?
When my spiritual world seems dark, and God seems far away, I’ve found two ways to combat these winter blues.
Two Ways to Combat Spiritual Dark Days
First, remember and believe God will do what he says. One promise I hold onto when my spiritual days seem “blah” is God’s promise to never leave or forsake us. Moses told this to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31 and the same promise is repeated in Joshua 1, 1 Kings 8, and Hebrews 13. It helps to read over these promises again and again until I start to believe God really is still with me.
Second, I must believe just because I can’t feel God doesn’t mean He isn’t there. Romans 8:26 in the Message says it this way:
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making our prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
When I fill my reality with the light of truth, my spiritual dark days don’t look so bleak. But this is only a starting point. I find good friends to keep me hopeful and regular times of worship, reflection, and prayer to keep remind me of what is real—despite what I see or feel.