When the Lights Go Out

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Exodus 10:21 (ESV)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.’”


This plague is different from the others. It brings no noise, no destruction, no immediate physical pain — only darkness. And not ordinary darkness, but a darkness that can be felt. The people cannot see one another. They cannot move about. Life comes to a standstill.

This darkness directly confronts Egypt’s trust in Ra, the sun god — the source of light, life, and order in their worldview. When Ra fails, everything collapses. What the Egyptians trusted to give them clarity and meaning offers nothing at all.

This is not just a challenge to a false god; it is a revelation of reality. Light does not come from creation. It comes from God alone. When God withdraws His sustaining presence, darkness is what remains. The darkness reveals what life is like apart from Him — disorienting, isolating, paralyzing.

Pharaoh has continued to bargain, confessing sin only when trapped and renegotiating surrender once relief comes. Now God stops arguing and lets absence speak. The darkness is not torture; it is unveiling. It shows the truth of a life that refuses full surrender while clinging to substitutes for God.


This passage invites me to reflect on where I look for light apart from God. How often do I trust in false sources of clarity — control, success, security, routine — believing they will sustain me? When those lights go out, the darkness can feel overwhelming.

God does not always shout to get my attention. Sometimes He allows the silence. Sometimes He lets the darkness reveal what I have been trusting instead of Him. Without God, there is no neutral ground — only darkness. But where God is present, there is always light, even when circumstances are hard.

This passage reassures me that God alone is the source of life, clarity, and connection. It also reminds me that when I feel disoriented or cut off, it may be an invitation to return to the only true light.


God,
When the lights go out and I feel lost,
help me recognize what You are showing me.
Reveal the places where I have trusted in lesser lights
instead of resting fully in You.

Remind me that You alone are light,
and apart from You there is only darkness.
Draw me back to Your presence,
where clarity, life, and connection are restored.

Even when the darkness feels heavy,
help me trust that Your light has not gone out.
Amen

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