Stars Are Always in the Darkness

"Constellations" 

By Ellie Holcomb  

Constellations falling from your heart

Memories of darkness undone by the light

When you are sad, do you tend to go a dark place to think? Maybe a closet or bathtub, or even just wait until it is nighttime. Sadness or hopelessness are emotions that feel very heavy, and make all other thoughts take a negative spin. They can be some of the thoughts that make prayers come out angry and frustrated, instead of kind and rational. 

In darkness, it can be easy to feel comforted by its closeness. Self-pity kicks in and even though our insides are squirming and weeping to find the light, part of us stays in the dark because, for a few minutes at least, it can feel peaceful and safe. But as our brains begin to process the emotions, suddenly the darkness is unbearable. We can’t find any light. It feels like God has left us and we are alone left in the dark, sick world to fend for ourselves. 

But then the light comes. 

Maybe it is a whisper in your spirit that only God could whisper, or a Bible verse that you memorized years ago. Maybe it is this blog post, or a text from a friend. Whatever happens, God always reaches in with his light. 

Maybe you are reading this, and part of you wishes to be in the dark. Part of you wants to hide way in the corner. First of all, you are already pushing back the dark by reading this blog post. You are looking for stars. One quote I have saved on my phone is: 

“Even in the darkest night, a light is always going to shine. You just have to look for it.” —Willow Young

You are looking for stars and I know you will find them. I love how this verses describes the starry sky. 

“Lift up your eyes and look at the heavens: 

who created all things? 

He who brings out the starry host one 

by one 

and calls forth each of them by 

name. 

Because of his great power and mighty 

strength 

not one of them is missing.” — Isaiah 40:26

The same God who called out those stars is with you. He calls you by name inviting you into his light. But you have to choose to look up. I love the way the song “Constellations” depicts the night sky: Memories of darkness undone by the light. God’s glory is written in the all of creation including the stars (see Psalm 19:1). 

But why do we have to live in darkness? Why does there have to be seasons of night? 

I don’t always understand why the world is so dark when Jesus has already come. I don’t always know why God allows horrible things to happen. But I think this quote from Dust explains why really well. 

“The stars shine brightest in the darkness, Claire. Pixie dust chases back the shadows. Maybe that’s it—maybe that’s what the shadows are all about… finding the light through them.” — Dust by Kara Swanson, Page 250 

For me, I have grown the most though some of the hardest darkest seasons. Without that darkness, I would not have learned so much, so fast.

In my current novel I have been exploring darkness and light a lot. As I sat down to write this blog post, something big hit be about my novel. So much of it is based on my past season of darkness. In many moments while I write, I am forced to remember dark moments so that I can finally see the stars that were there all along.

Though the seasons of darkness are always hard, the Bible says: 

“You, Lord, keep my lamp burning, 

my God turns my darkness into light.” — Psalm 18:28

God can use darkness for his glory. Look at the stars. Look at Joseph while he was in Egypt. Without his jealous brothers and false charges, he would never have been lifted from jail, never been able to store up the food needed to keep the country alive.

God used that darkness, and he is still in the business of using it. Think about September 11^th 2001. In American history, that was a very dark moment. For days darkness was around, but there were fingers of light. People prayed for hours at church. In that suffering I bet hundreds of people found the Lord. Even 2020 God used. So many people were tested in their faith. Churches have been strengthened because of Christians recentering their lives.  

Writing about the ways God uses darkness for his glory is one of my favorite thing to write about in stories. In my current novel I have explored that theme and as I have started planning my next novel, I keep seeing ways that theme is coming back. Why do I enjoy writing about how God uses darkness? Because…

God is still in the business of turning darkness into light.

His glory is still falling from the sky every evening. If a part of you wants to crawl into darkness, I hope this blog post has encouraged you and has been a ray of light into your darkness. Tonight go outside and look for stars. Memories of darkness undone by the light.  And as you do I hope you will realize this:

“The light is far brighter than the darkness. Don’t forget that” — Dust by Kara Swanson, Page 251

God created an earth that was never left completely dark. The stars still shine above the clouds. And God is always turning darkness into light. 

Cover Reveal: 

This blog post is part of a cover reveal for one of my favorite authors and one of my writing coaches, Kara Swanson. Dust is the first book in the Heirs of Neverland duology. The second book Shadow gets to share its cover with the world today. 

Without more talk, here is the magical cover for Shadow!   

From reading Dust  I know that Shadow is going to be a more intense book, and I was worried that the cover might be too dark. But I think this cover is beautiful and hopeful. It shows the sense of danger, but the colors are still soft and cheery. 

If you would like to find out more about Shadow you can visit Kara’s instagram, and if you have been waiting to preorder this book you can now do so on Amazon here.