Trust in the Midst of Darkness
Phase 3 - Grace as the Means
Do not light your own fire
Passage: Isaiah 50:10–11
“Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” Isaiah 50:10 (NLT)
Keywords: Trust, darkness, reliance
Reflection
This is where it gets real. Up to now, we have seen the Servant, His obedience, His suffering and His trust.
Now the question turns to us. “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys His servant?” And this is not theoretical, it is personal.
And then comes the situation we all face at some point. “If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light…” No clarity or visible outcome. No sense of direction.
This is where trust gets tested, not when things are clear, but here, in the darkness.
And the instruction is simple enough, “Trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” Not to understand or figure it all out or fix it. Trust. Rely.
How does that sit for you. Stop for a moment and let that sink in. It certainly hits home for me.
Because this is where we humans struggle. There is something in us that drifts. When things are going well, when there is provision, or success, we tend to rely on God less. Not deliberately or consciously. It happens, and we become more confident in ourselves, more comfortable in our own ability to manage things. And then the pressure comes, things get hard, the clarity disappears, and we turn back to Him again.
If I am honest, I find that confronting, because we are quick to forget, to drift. Quick to move from dependence on Him, to self-reliance, even after we have seen His faithfulness.
I have seen this in my own life. In seasons where things were going well, I was less intentional about seeking Him. Then in the harder seasons, I found myself trying to solve it first. Trying to work it out. Trying to make a plan. Trying to take control. Trying to rely on what I know. And only later, sometimes much later, recognising my situation and coming back to Him.
That is not how it is meant to be. And I have learned, not just from Scripture but from experience, that this does not lead to good outcomes. It may feel like the right thing or wise even in the moment. It may feel like leadership or responsibility. But it is still self-reliance.
We light our own fire. “I’ll work it out.” “I’ll make a plan.” “I’ll take control.” “I’ll rely on what I know.”
And while it feels right at the time, it is not His light. And it will not lead where He is leading.
So the call here is simple. God is not meant to be the place we run to or turn when everything else fails. He is meant to be the place where we turn first, where we start.
Before the plan, the decision or the action. We are to seek Him first. And not because we have to, but because we trust Him. Because He sees what we cannot see and He knows what we do not know. He leads in ways we would not choose, but that are always right.
So when you find yourself in the dark, do not rush to fix it. Do not light your own fire.
Pause. Trust. Rely on your God.
Prayer
Father God,
Forgive me for the times I have relied on myself instead of trusting You. When I have tried to take control, to make my own way, and to depend on what I know.
Teach me to come to You first, not as a last resort, but as my starting point. Help me to trust You in the dark, when I cannot see and do not understand.
Jesus, thank You that You showed perfect trust and obedience. Help me to follow Your example. To rely on You fully and to walk by faith and not by sight.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.