Why God Made Darkness

This is a thought I've wrestled with for some time now. Why did God make darkness?

Isn't darkness evil? Doesn't Satan operate in darkness? Doesn't the Bible say that in Jesus there is no darkness at all?


But in the Word's account of creation, the Bible is very clear: God created darkness: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night..." -Genesis 1:5 (See also Psalms 104:20; Isaiah 45:7). In 1 Kings 8:12, when Solomon finally made the temple of the Lord, God told him that "he would dwell in thick darkness."

Great. So God made darkness? Why?

I think it's first important to understand something about Satan. Satan HAS NO POWER to create. He has only the ability to twist things that God has created. The Lord created the tree of knowledge of good and evil for a perfect purpose within his perfect timing. Satan had to twist God's Word about this tree in order to get man to sin in the first place. The tree itself was not evil, but Satan used it in a way and time God did not appoint, thereby making it sin, making it evil.

I'm going to be so bold to say the same thing about darkness. Now, there's quite a few beliefs about what was going on at the very, very beginning of creation - and many people believe that there is a gap between verse one and verse two of Genesis one in which Satan rebelled against God. Let's pretend this is absolute fact for a moment, though my point does not depend on this being true. But let's say, hypothetically, that in verse one EVERYTHING is in darkness because God says that He dwells in the midst of darkness because he is the only light eternity needs. However, Satan misuses this darkness - maybe trying to use his own light (Lucifer meaning light-bearer) to be a light in the midst of the darkness God created for himself - and gets himself cast out of heaven. Now, all of this is totally hypothetical. But somewhere in there, Satan MISUSED God's darkness, Satan TWISTED God's darkness, and immediately places a negative connotation on darkness for mankind to wrestle with for eternity.

And what a brilliant strategy for Satan to use! If God indeed dwells in darkness, he would want all of creation to be terrified of darkness and use it for Satanic worship - that way, no one ever finds the habitation of the Lord! Remember, Satan twists what God creates, if God makes something perfect, Satan makes it evil. God made marriage holy, Satan made sex taboo; God made plants and animals, Satan twists it to junk food and drugs; God made water a picture of life, while Satan has used it as a means of death! My guess, is that if Satan is trying to make darkness SO evil, it must be really important for the purposes of God.

So now that this is established, look at Psalms 18:11, "He made darkness his secret place." The Lord dwells in darkness! Darkness is his secret place! The Jewish word for "Night" literally means "a wrapping" - as if God is wrapping something up within this darkness that is waiting for mankind to discover and walk in.



So let's slow down, and let's examine what I consider one of the most powerful passages in scripture - Psalms 18:28-31: "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?"


Now, another important Biblical concept to understand about the nature of God is that if we have received the Spirit of the LORD then we will be MOVING with God. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:2, at the first mention of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit was moving over the face of the deep. And he's still moving today! John 7:38 tells us that he who receives the Spirit of the Lord will have streams of living water flowing out of his belly! The Lord does not want you to receive his Spirit and his blessings and then sit still! Receiving the Spirit of the Lord and follow him!

Another truth about the Holy Spirit. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will ALWAYS be exalting one another by the things they move us to do, say, and believe. If what you have in your life does not exalt the Godhead, then something is horribly wrong. And let me promise you this, if the Holy Spirit is in your life, and it is moving you like it should be, then the Holy Spirit of God will move you straight into the darkness so that you can move into the habitation of God and experience the blessings of the secret place of the LORD!

So why does the LORD use darkness? Why do we have to go there in order to experience the blessings of the secret place of God? Why on earth did the LORD CHOSE darkness for his habitation?

Psalms 18:28 tells us that the Lord will first "light my candle." When examining the Jewish words the Psalmist chose to use in this passage, we can see the hand of the Lord writing through David in a very powerful way. The word "light" has a literal connotation with another Greek word that brings out a full meaning that says, "to kindle an understanding." And the word "candle" literally comes from two Jewish words meaning "Fire and plow." So what God is saying in this first thought, is that he wants to lead you into the darkness, into his secret place, where he will light your candle, or "kindle an understanding of God's divine purposes to put fire in your spirit and reveal his purposes for your life in his field!" Why do we meet God in the secret place? To gain understanding! Why do we gain understanding? So that we can have fire in our hearts that spreads out into the field the LORD would have us plow while on this earth!

The Lord continues these amazing promises about the secret place:
"God will enlighten my darkness:" Literally, God will spread out (Hebrew, diaspora) the discoveries of his secret place. What does Paul tell the Corinthians? "Comfort one another with the comfort you have received." When you enter the secret place of the Lord and press into his presence via the darkness he is wrapped in, he will use that time in your life to influence others around you to press through the darkness in their lives as well!
"I have run though a troop:" When you enter into that darkness, Satan DOES NOT want you to be there! He will attack you in every way possible because he knows you are entering into the habitation of the Lord. So he will attack you, he will bring confusion, disorder, and blindness - but God promises us VICTORY over the troop, literally "attacks and invasions," the enemy will send after us.
"I have leaped over a wall:" Literally, I have leaped or rejoiced over a wall or lamentation. Satan will set up walls of despair and depression for us in the midst of darkness, but God promises us that we can, through him, rejoice in the midst of that dark place and move over that lamentation to reach the secret place of our God!

All of this said, it is imperative that we trust God in the mist of darkness. What does Satan say about darkness? They are times of despair, depression, distress, blindness, and confusion. But what does God say? That in the darkness, the habitation of the Lord, we will find joy, direction, comfort, victory, sight, and understanding! The Bible says, "God is not the author of confusion." He DID NOT create the darkness to confuse us, but to give us understanding. He "has not given us a spirit of fear," instead, he created the darkness for us to experience his spirit of "power, love and a sound mind."

So, practically, if you find yourself in a season of darkness and confusion - remember why God created it, and hold fast to verse thirty. "As for God, his way is perfect." That means that it's complete. Jesus said "be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world," the epistles record "greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world" - God has already, which means he will, which means he is, which means it is inevitable that He will complete his purposes in your life and his Will will be accomplished on this earth -- just trust Him! The Bible goes on to say "the word of the Lord is tried" - that word "tried" means "already put to the test!" There's no testing of God's words - Satan tempted Jesus to test God's word and to tempt the Almighty! Why? Jesus understood God was taking him to a place where he needed to depend only on the power of God the Father to bring him out. Lucifer wanted Jesus to lose faith and test God to see if He will do what He promised He will do outside of the Father's perfect timing. But Jesus kept faith that God will complete his Word within the timing He had planned, and that he would be FAITHFUL!

One last thought: "He is a buckler to all those that trust in him." That word "buckler" or "shield" is where the Jews got the name "Ananias"or better known as "Shadrach." Shadrach was one of Daniel's three friends that would not bow down to the statue of the King of Babylon. Because of this, the king had them thrown into a fiery furnace. I promise you this - Shadrach didn't know what to expect, he probably thought death was inevitable - but he stood on the promises of God, he walked in the ways of the Lord, he believed Psalms 18:36, "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip," and even in the midst of uncertain times, he allowed the Spirit of the Lord to move him into the midst of the fire!

Here's a random fact, the middle of the fire is the DARKEST place in the world. All the oxygen is sucked out of the air, and no light remains - that is why firemen have lights. So in the midst of the most extreme darkness in the hottest fire, Shadrach and his two buddies were encountered with another being: Jesus Christ. Who FAITHFULLY met them in the secret place of the Lord! He was their shield! His plans were going to be completed! He ran through the midst of attack! He gave them joy over lamentations! He brought them direction and purpose in the midst of the most confusing times they had probably ever faced! And the King of Babylon knew it too. He brought them back out of the furnace totally unharmed, he was humbled before them and in awe of their God, and he recognized Psalms 18:31: "For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?"

The three friends thrown into a furnace took what they encountered in the secret place where they met Jesus, they spoke the truth of what they learned to the King of Babylon, and the King of Babylon made a decree that the God of Israel should be worshiped because of his faithfulness and power shown to these three men! Hallelujah!

Let me tell you the truth, God will lead you straight into the darkness in order to teach you how to trust Him and to encounter you in his secret place. The darkness is not evil, but Satan will attack you in the midst of it, just trust in the provision of the Lord and keep running hard after Him. He will both encounter you and lead you out so that you can proclaim his faithfulness to the World. Amen.