The World is Dark but Keep your Light Shining

by Tiffany Smiley

How can a good God allow so much evil?

This world can be a suffocating, dark and downright evil place. When you’re in the thick of hardship, suffering and pain, it can be hard to find any good or any light.

A man willingly decided to blow himself up right in front of my husband, aiming to kill him and the people he was with. God spared my husband, but he was blinded for life.

It was not until several years later that I was able to reflect on what another human being did to my family. On a personal level, we experienced the worst of humankind.

I struggled with the evil of this act for many years, it is not an easy thing to get over. How could someone do such a thing? How could someone wish to take the life of himself and others?

More importantly, how can a good God allow such evil?

Each of my three young boys have asked these same questions. I have watched them work through this process of grieving the evil they’ve seen first hand and attempting to understand how it could be so. No one could have prepared me for hearing my child crying and saying, “Mommy, I was praying for daddy and I’m just so sad that he almost died and someone tried to kill him.”

I had to break this down for my young boys, and in turn came to accept the truths I was preaching. We live in a fallen world, so yes, things will happen to us — bad things. The enemy will try to tell us we are worthless and shameful and hopeless; he will try to steal from us, but God tells us a different story.

What the enemy means to steal and kill, God will use to save, heal and restore. Evil is a reality in our lives; maybe it’s not in the form of a suicide bomber for some, but all of us experience evil. All you have to do is look at some of the recent events around our world to see this evil.

I explained to my sweet boys that despite our circumstances and despite what we see around us, we all have to fight for what is virtuous. I told them that their daddy wanted to fight for what is good and right, and there will always be people who don’t want the light.

If we remember God’s word and his power in us no matter what, we will always have hope. We know who wins the battle in the end.

“… greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world,” 1 John 4:4 (KJV)

He can turn darkness into light, it is what he does for us every single day. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

Believing in God’s goodness has been a journey for me. There were times when the darkness rolled in and I could barely see the light, when I could not or did not want to believe that he could make something good out of my situation. But God did not leave me in that place; he showed me that good wins, the light will shine through my friends.

It’s no lie that this world is full of dark and evil things, and it’s no lie that we all struggle, but never let your light go out. Keep it shining, shine it in the darkness, shine it in the struggle; even if it’s just barely lit, keep striving for the light.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)