by Greg Mundis

Whistling in the Dark

I hated going down into our cellar when I was a kid. It was an unfinished basement and had various and sundry crawl spaces leading to different places underneath the house. It was damp, dark, and dingy. All kinds of creatures in various stages of development were crawling or flying or clinging to you after your foray downstairs.

It was inevitable that I would have to go down there—there was no escape, and no excuses could dissuade my mother or father. I adapted the proverbial habit of whistling when I went down the stairs to try to comfort myself. You see, the light was not turned on by a switch—you had to actually go down in the dark and pull the light string that was in the middle of the basement.

Reflecting back on this part of my life does not fill my heart with good memories but nevertheless memories. The whistling became longer and louder in proportion to the amount of fear I felt.

The good news is I whistled and made it through this traumatic childhood experience every time. That brought very little comfort to me then, but now it is meaningful to me. I made it—even when fear was at its worst. I made it—even when the light was burned out and I was left to flounder in the dark. I made it. 

What is the application of this in our setting now? Good question! 

Sometimes the path ahead is dark. Sometimes we are surrounded by an environment that is not user friendly. Sometimes we feel like a “motherless child.” Sometimes we are overwhelmed by circumstance way beyond our comfort zone and our control. We are smacked in the face with fear and the unknown.

Did you ever notice at these times we tend to call on God and ask him what we are to do? We ask God for comfort and help. The level of our cry to God seems to be in direct proportion to the degree of darkness in which we find ourselves. Interesting.

Fortunately, we are not left on our own to flounder in the dark. Fortunately, we have a God who says: “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy” (Psalms 145:17-20, NIV).

The lessons from scripture are clear. First, we can call on the Lord and He is near to us. Second, we call on the Lord with clear motives and with a pure heart and He hears and saves. Is it your day to call on the Lord?

Our prayer is that people will call upon the Lord all over Europe!  He is near and He saves!

Sincerely,

Greg Mundis
AGWM Europe Regional Director

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