When the Lights Go Out
Sunday Word
Beloved family and friends, We have all sat in a power outage. One minute the house is normal. Next minute everything goes black. Your screen goes dark in a flash, lights out, fridge stops working. As you navigate around, your light switches don't work. You feel around for a flashlight and tell yourself, “It’ll come back on.” You don’t know when. You cannot see the crew working down the road. You just trust that the power company will do their thing, and the lights will return.
That is faith. You already live like that. You open the fridge and expect food to be there when the lights are on. You turn the key in your car every day and expect the car to start. You trust a stranger at the other end of an intersection to stop at a red light. And when the power goes out, as frequently as it's been for our household lately, you still believe the lights will come back on.
If we can put that kind of trust in a utility company, why do we struggle to trust the God who sees us, cares for us, and wants a personal relationship with us?
Jesus said faith as small as a mustard seed is enough (Matthew 17:20). He did not ask for a spotlight. He asked for a seed in while everything is dark. The woman with the issue of blood had been in the dark for twelve years. No answers. No strength left. She could not see the power in Jesus. She reached for His cloak anyway, and He called it faith (Matthew 9:20-22).
Abraham left home with no map. Peter stepped onto water he knew should not hold him. Both of them had to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Hebrews 11:1 says faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Some of you are experiencing an outage right now. Job. Health. Family. Peace. The lights went out, and you are waiting in a dark room wondering if God is still working. He is. You cannot always see the crew. That does not mean the power is gone.
Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). The Greater One has not left the house.
Now I want to take you one step further. Faith isn't just believing the lights will come back on. Faith is seeking His face while you wait. “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (Psalm 105:4). David said, “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8). That is not a small thing. That is faith.
Many modern homes now come with or have been converted to have a smart meter. The power company is already aware of an outage before customers report the problem. One time just recently, our power company texted me that the power was out! How about that? And even better — the Lord knew it too, and had a lineman at our doorstep at 8 AM the very next morning. That was God’s timing. We don’t always see Him move that fast in everyday life. He certainly showed up in a miraculous way that day. But He showed up.
Anyone can seek a hand when they want a result. It takes faith to seek a face when the room is still dark.
Paul was near the end of his walk when he wrote, “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
Hear that. The crown is not for the busiest and best-dressed believer. It is not for the one who never sat in the dark, alone, scared, worried in fear.
It is for those who longed for Him. Those who kept looking for His appearing. Those who sought His face.
Seeking Him is faith. Waiting on Him is faith. Trusting that He already got the call, that your needs are already met, and that results are on the way, and He is already restoring you, doing a new thing, and your dark house will be lit brightly like a lamp unto your feet post, like a light up on a hilltop as far as the eye can see.
Loving His appearing more than you love a quick fix is faith.
The crown of righteousness is tied to a heart that wants Jesus Himself. Not just the job restored. Not just the bill paid. Not just the lights back on. Him. His presence. His coming. His face. That longing is precious to God. It tells Heaven, “I still believe You are worth seeking, even here.”
So do not despise being in the dark room if it has taught you to look up. Do not despise the small seeds if it is still turned toward Him. You already know how to trust what you cannot see. You do it during every inconvenience, power outage, and service disruption.
Now put that same faith in the God who has never failed His Word — and keep seeking His face until the day you see Him.
Will you trust Him in the dark the way you trust that the power will come back on?
Will you bring Him a problem even as small as a mustard seed?
Will you seek His face — not only His hand — and call that faith?
Let’s pray together: Lord Jesus, the lights have gone out in places I cannot fix. I still believe You are working. You see me. You care for me. You want a relationship with me. I walk by faith and not by sight. Greater are You in me than he that is in the world. I do not only ask You to turn the lights back on. I seek Your face. I long for You. I want You more than I want the answer. Teach me that seeking You is faith. Teach me that waiting on You is worship. Lay up in me the kind of heart that loves Your appearing. I receive the hope of that crown of righteousness — not because I have been strong, but because I have kept turning toward You. I give You this tiny mustard seed as a glimpse of hope. Help my unbelief. Hold me still in the dark. Be my light until I see You face to face. I trust You. I seek You. I am Yours. In Your name, Amen.
If this touched your heart, share it with someone still sitting in the dark, someone who believes there is no hope. His power has not failed. He gets notifications better than a smart meter. God is still on the throne. Keep seeking His face. That is faith. And that faith is not forgotten.
With love,
JR Tyndale Ministries