“Mom, close the curtains. I don’t want the darkness to get in.”
Honey, the darkness cannot hurt you.
“Mom, turn the light on. I can’t see in the dark.”
It’s in the dark that our light shines brightest.
“But I can’t see in the dark. I’m afraid.”
God is with you, even in the dark.
God does not intend for us to be afraid in the dark. Bad times come, but these seasons of grief, and despair, or times of hopelessness and discouragement, these are not a cosmic time-out sent from far across the universe to whip wayward children into shape. Crippling, crushing fear that stops us in our tracks – this is not heaven sent, the weight of depression that hampers our steps as we trudge through the molasses of sadness or brokenness, this is not the ruling of a strict Father, imposing, decreeing misery on His little ones. Bad times do come, and they have come, and they will come again, and maybe bad times are right now, but they are not the final word on the goodness of your life and mine. Bad times, sad times, grieving times, despairing times, these are the by-products of a world that is not the way that God designed, but a world that has been tainted and twisted and confused by sin, by missing the mark on what God had planned, or because of bad choices, or bad situations, or bad actions.
Bad times come. And with them, darkness.
God does not want us to fear in the dark.
Do not be afraid, He whispers. Again and again, His Word, His written Word, His Son, the Word, reminds our breaking, crying, screaming, lonely hearts, Do not fear.
This world will give you trouble, but I, the I AM, the Word, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God, I have overcome the world.
Don’t be afraid.
When bad times come, don’t be afraid.
It didn’t catch me off guard.
When bad times come, don’t be afraid.
I have the very best stuff planned for your life.
When bad times come, don’t be afraid.
There isn’t one single thing in this world that can keep me from you.
When bad times come, don’t be afraid.
I am still working even when you cannot see me through the darkness.
When bad times come, don’t be afraid.
All of this will pale compared to what I have in store for you.
Don’t be afraid.
The Good Father does not create our fear.
He does not give us despair.
He does not make us broken.
The Good Father gave us His very best – His Son, His Beloved One, His Little Lamb, to walk among us in the darkness, to meet us in our brokenness, to come to us in our despair. He did not fear the dark, but embraced it to be with us. There is no darkness in Him, our darkness cannot dim Him, because He is our Light.
The Good Father is at work in our bad times and our darkness. And the Good Father will create good 
from the very worst, like an artisan, He crafts something beautiful from the shattered pieces of our bad times. He smoothes away the rough places, restoring, redeeming, resurrecting what has been broken to bring about beauty, newness, life. He brings light in our darkness.
Do not be afraid, He tells us quivering souls, I will be your Light. There is no darkness that will stop me. There is no brokenness I cannot redeem. There is no sadness I cannot help carry. There is no wrong I cannot forgive. I will be your Light, no matter how deep your darkness.
Do not be afraid.
