In a World of Darkness, God Calls Us Higher

In a world where truth is mocked, goodness is undervalued, and beauty is dismissed as trivial, it can be hard to stay hopeful. Yet when the world feels dark, hope and courage are vital. As Christians, the darkness around us should move us to turn our eyes toward Jesus and reflect His light to others. 

In Matthew 5:16, God calls us to show Him to the world through our actions: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Living among people who don’t know God gives us a unique opportunity to minister to those whose worldviews cannot offer them no hope. 

It is God’s word that offers us hope and a future. Redeemer’s faculty chaplain and newest professor of Core and History, Daniel Gilman, echoed this in an interview: “The fact that there’s good news should give us the courage to do something about the bad news, rather than a positive fatalism.” It’s tempting to give in to fear and let it control us, but we are called to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty and to hold on to hope and courage, even in the face of darkness. 

Christ calls us to see the brokenness of the world and, rather than retreat from it, to work diligently to confront it; to chase after things that are good, true and beautiful rather than worldly things. We, as Christians, have a responsibility to acknowledge the darkness; to rise up and take action against it. 

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, describes it this way: “This world is enemy-occupied territory. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” 

We are engaged in a spiritual war. The contrast between good and evil is what helps us to fully realize God’s goodness. Avoiding evil is both impossible and unproductive; instead, we must acknowledge the brokenness of the world, turn to God as our comfort, and prepare to fight for His cause. 

Gilman offered an example from history: “The great world changers, like William Wilberforce, a member of parliament that helped to end the slave trade, have been people haunted like Christ by the brokenness in the world.” Even when the world feels overwhelmingly dark, God calls us to pursue what is good, true, and beautiful; we are called to look to God for hope and courage. 

A common misconception among Christians is the idea that it is better to avoid or ignore evil than to acknowledge it and fulfill God’s calling to fight against it. Within the church, an attitude of avoidance can often replace courage, hope, and confrontation. We must not shrink back from or avoid evil, but instead rise up to confront it. 

Referring to Isaiah 53, Gilman said, “It [Isaiah 53] describes Jesus as a man of sorrows. I think one can even translate that as ‘he’s haunted.’ We all recognize Jesus is probably more joyful than any of us, but in his laughter, mirth, and joy, you can see there’s also this hauntedness, sorrowfulness, that he was also feeling. And likewise, to follow Jesus means that we are to hear of evil, see evil, and speak up against evil.” Knowing what attitude we are called to is only half the battle. Living it out through daily practices is where fruition and transformation happens. 

C.S. Lewis addresses this in Mere Christianity, saying,“Good and evil increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of.” 

It is often the little everyday things we do that make the biggest difference. The most dangerous evil may not be in the world around us, but within our own hearts: the evil of our own sinful nature. Cultivating daily practices that deepen our relationships with God and combat the evil that is found both around us and within us is key to renewing hope and courage, even when the world feels dark. 

When asked about what sustains his own hope, Gilman cited three simple practices: “reading the Bible, praying, and Christ-centered conversation.” Pursuing God through His word, communicating with Him through prayer, and engaging in meaningful fellowship are practices that strengthen and deepen faith and remind us of our purpose. 

Gilman also shared that he finds hope through the reading of children’s books. “If more adults’ imaginations were overflowing with children’s stories, the world would be safer, because it is in children’s stories that we learn, to paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, not so much that the dragon exists, but that it can be defeated.”  

He pointed to a scene in The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, where they’re far below the earth and the serpent witch is strumming on her lute, telling the main characters that all there is is darkness and nothing more, no Aslan. “I think that in real life, it’s not so much serpents and witches whispering that to us,” Gilman said, “but ourselves – telling ourselves we really should just be out about life and that there’s not much we can do, and that it will backfire if we try to do anything, whereas God calls us to something greater.” 

We can have courage in knowing that God is on our side, leading us, protecting us, and calling us higher. Though He ultimately has already overcome evil, He calls us to be His light in the world until He returns. It can seem like an impossible task, but as a wise hobbit once said in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: 

“There is some good in this world… and it’s worth fighting for.”