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​Looking for Light at the End of the Tunnel


Introduction. Anyone lost in a cave with no light and no memory of how to get out will soon be in the grips of despair. As the hours pass, hunger and thirst will grow and hope of salvation will dim. This is when anguish and bitterness find room to grow. If other circumstances do not intervene, it soon becomes time to give up, sit down and wait for the inevitable. Yet what would happen if a glimmer of light was seen far in the distance? Hope would kindle in an instant and blaze into a great fire that would consume all despair. Though nothing has changed, still in the cave, tired, hungry, and thirsty, despair is now insignificant. Hope of its ending makes the trial seem light and easy to bear. It will soon be over. This is the basis of our expression “Look for the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Christians never know when they will enter such a tunnel. Death, disease, financial loss, and severe persecutions and tribulations can arise with no warning at any time. Each can bring great sorrow and darkness and lead us into such a tunnel of despair. Yet Paul described the light that we can always see at the end of any of these “tunnels.” “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18). This glory must ever be in view if we are to be able to use it when we are overwhelmed. Those who are prepared will see the light at the end the entire time they are in it, but those who lose sight of this light can become discouraged. This is the problem of the stony heart. “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;  yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. (Mt. 13:20-21). As long as we keep the light of salvation and reward at the end of any tribulation or persecution, we will not stumble.

Job kept the light at the end of the tunnel clearly in view as he lost his possessions and children. “Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." Even after he lost his health to a terrible disease, he still saw hope and the glory that would afterward be revealed. “‘Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”  But when the three friends came and began to speak their “proverbs of ashes,” Job was led away from the Scriptures into their human wisdom and soon lost his way, straying into the darkness. (Job 1:21-22; 2:10; 38:2-3). If this can happen to a man of whom God said “there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil,” no one is immune from this danger. (Job 1:8).

Throughout His betrayal, trials and crucifixion, Jesus also kept the light at the end of the tunnel clearly in view: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb.12:2). In the greatest depths of His agony and sorry, Jesus never lost sight of why He was suffering and the great blessings that would come from it. It was this joy that led Him to endure the cross and despise the shame. He never lost sight of the light at the end, and spoke of it to the thief, “today you will be with me in paradise.” (Lk. 23:43). Thus on that very day He would be in the place that was “very far better!” (Phil 1:23)! Added to this were the great blessings He would bring to those who would be saved by His death, and the pleasure of His Father for doing His will!

Paul was also a man who suffered great persecutions because of his faith.
  • “in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” (2 Cor 11:23-27).
How did Paul get up and keep going day after day and say “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” (Gal 6:17)? We don’t have to wonder because he told us.
  • Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2Cor. 4:16-18)
Just like the man in the tunnel, focusing on the light at the end made all the difficulties of being in the tunnel bearable. Paul stopped looking at the things that are seen. They could have brought the darkness of despair and weariness. But Paul didn’t look at them. He was too focused on the eternal unseen promises of God. When he balanced the afflictions against the joy at the end, the afflictions were lightened and more bearable. “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.” (2 Cor. 4:8). Many afflictions feel like a weight on our heart and soul. Sometimes we feel we can’t even breath they weigh so heavy on us. Yet we have God’s promise that if we will focus on the light at the end instead of the weight of the trials, they will become light.

Conclusion. Sometimes our worst enemy is our perspective. If we look for light at the end, we can learn "to be content” in every circumstance (Phil. 4:11-12). But if we focus too much on the darkness and discomfort, the devil’s whispers of unfair treatment can lead us to same bitterness and despair that Job had as he listened to the words of his friends. What terrible burdens we must bear alone if we do not trust God’s promises, refuse to lay our anxieties upon God, or don’t pray for peace.
  • Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7)
  • casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1Pet. 5:7)
  • “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” (What a Friend we have in Jesus # 69)
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