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Meet my friend, Pam. Pam is a hope-giver. Her story is one of light cutting through the darkness in everyday, ordinary life. The light of God within her made way for more light. Together, as we move through Lent, let’s remind ourselves why we carry light into a dark world.

Some of the darkest places on earth are actually where it’s easiest to see the light.

A lone match in a cave. A glowing sea creature down deep. A warm fire in a dark forest. If you light a candle in a loud and vibrant sports stadium, it will get little noticed. But if you light that same candle in a quiet church, well, something sacred happens.

This is exactly why we share our faith. There are simply places where bringing the light and hope of the Gospel could be drowned out by the brashness of this world. Instead, let us look for the dark places of the world to bring our lamp on a stand.

Corrie ten Boom and her family rescued Jewish families during World War II using their watchmakers shop and home, an act of obedience to God. They were eventually caught, and she was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. I do not think we can quite imagine the darkness of a place like that. With her own trials and difficulties, Corrie kept her light of Christ shining brightly in that place of shadows and horrors.

Miraculously, she and her sister had smuggled in a Bible and managed to hold worship services and saw many come to know Jesus Christ as Savior. People could see their light, their hope.

What dark place or shadowy life can we bring God’s hope into? Perhaps it’s just the neighbor battling depression, or maybe it’s the part of your city that desperately needs hope. Perhaps we will find ourselves thrust into a place of darkness like Corrie, but much more likely, God will point the way into a life where we sense the dimness all around the soul.

We are a steady glow of hope as believers sealed by the Holy Spirit. Hope-Givers need not bring a list of credentials into the darkness. They need only bring themselves to whom Christ resides. The darkness will retreat in our presence. Sometimes just sitting with someone while they cry and mourn is the flickering light of hope they need.

War, shootings, soaring prices, the pandemic, unemployment, and so much more are pulling on everyone, dragging people into the shadows. They need not stay there. We can shine the way out and have everything we need to do so. Hope-Givers always have what they need.

“I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”

John 12:46

Light is more piercing in darkness. Light pulls attention in shadow. Be the light of Christ in someone’s life today.

Discussion Questions


Recall a time you were in a dark room. How did it make you feel? Why did it make you feel that way?

Is there a season you have lived in that felt dark? Did someone bring “light” to you? If so, what was that experience like?

Who might you bring “light” to today, and how?