And I’ve been thinking about some of the ways we wait in darkness – Pt. 2

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.” – Luke 1:78-79

There are many things that can reveal the darkness and remind us of the shadow of death. Like walking the halls of the oncology floor at the children’s hospital, or, looking over photos of the aftermath of a violent war.

Darkness and the shadow of death seem all around us.

The prophecy in Luke 1 concerning the “Dawn from On High” announces the Light of the World visiting face to face with darkness. And what does the Dawn find when he faces the dark?

A people sitting down.

People who are stuck and sitting in the shadows. People who aren’t moving but waiting for something.

Maybe they are waiting for the darkness to consume them, or, maybe they just can’t see their way out.

In Psalm 23, where we also read of the shadow of death, there is a difference in posture between the Psalmist and those who sit in Luke 1.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

Do you see the difference between those in the shadows?

The Psalmist is not sitting in the shadow of death, but walking through it. Though there are reasons to be afraid of the darkness that surrounds him, he walks forward in faith.

Might that be because he knows there is no shadow without a light shining somewhere nearby?

The Psalmist walks through the valley of the shadow of death. He might be fresh on the heels of the death of someone he loves or it might be the shadow of his own impending death. Either way, he has found comfort. Though he will not be protected from dying, he will be saved from death. The valley of shadows has become transfigured as a path of peace upon which he walks.

The Psalmist no longer fears evil because the Shepherd has faced death ahead of him.

We believe the same is true for us.

The Lord has died our death so that we can live His life. That is the kind of conquering that happens on the cross. And it is that conquering that guides and comforts the Psalmist as he is led through the same victory.

Myles Werntz explains what is happening through death — which, as he says, remains our “unruly friend”…

“Through Death, we enter into the death and resurrection of Jesus, learning the way of the crucified, sharing the sufferings of the LORD as we share the sufferings of the world. The light of the world has not been overcome by the darkness, and in the resurrection, the darkness prove to be only shadows. Our moral lives are lived in this shadow, made alive in their rebellions of prayer and action as we embrace this valley, and see the shadows as the harbingers not of midnight, but of full day.”

Advent might be a season of waiting in the dark but that doesn’t mean we cannot walk in the way of peace today. The darkness may be blinding and the shadow of death may be heavy to bear, but the Shepherd still guides.

As verse 79 says, He is guiding their feet. This is possible because they have been lifted up from their seat. Now, like the Psalmist before them, they are walking through the shadow of death.

In Luke 1, Zachariah believed that the Dawn would come to those sitting in darkness. Not necessarily removing the dark from them, but lifting them up from their despair.

This is a good reminder for us. For no matter how dark the dark gets, the Shepherd will make a path of peace for us to walk upon as we hold on to hope.

God has prepared the way of the Lord — in us — so we might walk this path. And because God alone has captured our fear, we don’t need to be afraid of anything else.

With his strength we wait — and walk — through the dark.