One of the things that a westerner notices when they come to Africa is how dark it is at night. There are no lights. In Jinja we have power all the time but it still is dark compared to Europe and North America. Vehicle headights never seem bright enough to do the job. Security lights don't penetrate but a few feet and in the village you had better have a good idea where you are and where your stuff is because there are only kerosene lamps to illuminate your night.
And when the night is long it can really bring despair.
In areas near the Nile River or Lake Victoria people are afraid to go out at night due to crocodiles. People have been eaten as they stepped out of their houses into the dark heading for the latrine to ease themselves. The long dark African night favors the wildlife so people stay locked in.
For some the long dark night is due to the thieves outside. Estimates for Uganda indicate 80% of young people are unemployed and many are turning to crime to make a living. If you are the average town dweller you don't venture out on foot after 10:00pm. This past Tuesday, the night guard for the compound two doors up from us was attacked with a panga, receiving serious head wounds. Meanwhile a suspected thief was killed two blocks from the church. No one is sure if he was a thief or not but it is another reason to stay indoors after dark so you don't get killed.
Many struggle in the night to keep their children safe from ritual killings called for by the traditional healer (witchdoctor) who has been hired to make someone wealthy or fertile or to get a spouse. It has gotten to the point that adults are often killed when no suitable child can be found. And what of the kids who have no adult to protect them. How long is their night?
For others the long night is because of the poor living conditions. Poor workmanship or lack of materials cause many to huddle into a corner of the house when it rains trying to keep themselves and their children warm and dry. That makes for a very long night. The same construction problems cause families to live with no protection against the mosquitoes that carry malaria and other diseases.
But perhaps the worst are those who face the darkness during illness. Living in Jinja we am blessed that we can get into our vehicle and get to a clinic in five minutes. People in the village cannot. If a man's wife or child falls very sick the best he can do is put the sick person on a bicycle and walk them five to twenty kilometers to get treatment. Saturday, the newspaper had a picture of a man crying out to passersby as he tried to lift his wife up off the ground. He had already carried her 5 kilometers and had seven more to go to reach medical care. This was in the daylight. What if it was at night? Who could or would help him. What is his level of despair? Where is his hope? Where is the hope for all those who face the long dark African night?
The solution to the long dark African night is light. The light of God's word. The light of Jesus, the Light of the world. Without His light nothing works. The despair in the African night grows and overwhelms without an end in sight. But God in his wisdom puts His children at the point where the light meets the dark.
Friday aternoon I went with the SOM students to a deliverance conference. There were 1500-2000 born again believers there. The name of Jesus was spoken and proclaimed many times but His word was never shared. At one point the speaker had the crowd repeat the name of Jesus 15 times and by doing so the people would receive the miracle they had come for. As I thought about it it occurred to me that they could have been shouting any name. It really didn't matter to them as long as they received their miracle of fertility, wealth, health and abundance. Yet the miracle they truly needed, a relationship with the Son of God, was never offered to them. The main teachers each drove up in successively more expensive vehicles. They would not leave their air-conditioned vehicles until it was time to take the stage. Their desire to be praised by men but at the same time giving no comfort to them was appalling.
2Corinthians 1:3-7 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."
Whether it is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through His protection or His provision, we need to comfort those in the long dark night with the comfort we have received from Him. People are in trouble, am I offering any comfort or hope? Am I giving those around me what Jesus died to give us all? Hope that He has done away with the penalty of sin for those who believe? Hope that He protects us from evil? Hope that He moves His people to be there for others?
Father God, thank you for taking us out of the darkness and into your light. Let our light shine in the darkness as well, easing the despair and hopelessness of those who long for the dawning of your light in their life. Amen
