Light at the End of the Tunnel

Tunnel on the Sparta-Elroy Bike Trail, image from google

This week I went on a bike trip with the jr. high youth group. We biked thirty-some miles through beautiful countryside. The sky was blue above us, and the rolling hills around us were a gorgeous green. It was a gift to bike through God's creation! Along the trail we were biking there were also three tunnels that you had to walk your bike through. The first day of biking we only went through one tunnel, and it wasn't terribly long. The second day, however, we went through two tunnels. The second tunnel was the longest one, almost a mile long. 

When we got to the entrance to that tunnel, it didn't look too long. We could see the light at the other end. 

Once we started walking our bikes through the tunnel, though, I realized how far away the light at the end was. It seemed like we had been walking for a while, and yet we didn't seem any closer to reaching the other side. It was so dark that I couldn't see the ground beneath my feet. (It really put the phrase "walk by faith, not by sight!" into practice for me) 

The only light I could see as I walked was the light straight ahead of me, at the end of the tunnel. It was dark, and the tunnel seemed so long. 

Isn't life like that sometimes? 

Sometimes life is hard, really hard. Sometimes it's so dark that you can't see two steps in front of you, let alone what's just up ahead. While I was walking through the tunnel in the dark, listening to the drip drop of water, feeling the cold droplets on my skin, the verse that popped into my head was from Psalm 23. 

Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." 

I was reminded as I walked through the darkness of the tunnel that God is with me even in the darkest days. Even when I can't see where I'm walking, can't see the ground I'm stepping on to, God is there. He hasn't let go. 

As I walked through the tunnel towards the light at the other end, I found myself encouraged. 

In the darkest days, and in the pain-filled hours, God is there. Not only is He walking with you through the darkness, but He has placed light at the end of the tunnel to guide you. The light at the end gives you hope. 

Hope. 

That's what I saw each time I looked at the light at the end of the tunnel. 

I saw hope. 

Hope that the darkness would end. 
Hope that I would see the light of day again. 
Hope that the sun would be shining on my face in just a little bit. 

Again, isn't life like that? Yes, we have dark days, and there is pain. Oh so much pain. Sometimes it seems like we are in the middle of a dark, never-ending tunnel. 

But I promise you, there is a light at the end. 

There is hope. 

Hope in Christ alone. 

He is the Light at the end of the tunnel. 

Walk towards Christ, for in Him is true Light. 
Walk through the darkness, knowing that God is with you, even in the "darkest valley." 
There is light at the end of the tunnel.