Learn to Navigate in the Dark

If you venture into the world of ultra marathon running, it’s only a matter of time before you run through the sunset and into the night. Night-time running can be intimidating even for the accomplished athlete. It is challenging enough near home, illuminated by street lights and car headlamps, but it is an entirely different prospect away from the ambient glow of urban life. Out on the open hills after sunset you can feel like a solitary speck on a vast landscape, isolated and vulnerable.

To compound matters, without the sun to illuminate your path, your brain (which knows you should be tucked up in bed) begins to play games. Hallucinations are common in the night as your tired mind tries to process what it cannot see, filling in the gaps with figures, faces, and buildings that don’t exist. On one occasion I ran for an hour across isolated moorland seeing a full city scene on either side of me. Shops, café’s, bright lights, people enjoying an evening on the town. None of it was there. In those moments the mind formulates what it longs for.

Furthermore, as your world shrinks down to the circumference of a head torch, you lose the thousands of visual stimuli that your brain normally depends on for navigation. Without those peripheral cues, staying on course becomes a lot more challenging. There are, however, a number of things you can do to prepare for this in advance. Often I will try to recce that section in the daytime to build up a mental image of the route that can be recalled when you return in the dark and can’t physically see the features. If a recce isn’t possible, you can achieve something similar by studying the maps and committing them memory. Advances in GPS technology have, of course, made nocturnal navigation much easier. You can plot a route on your watch before the race and allow satellite triangulation to be your eyes. Sometimes all you can do is simply follow that arrow on your timepiece, trusting that it will see you through to dawn.

If it’s possible, having company through the difficult moments makes a huge difference. It is not uncommon for athletes converging at the last checkpoint of the day to turn to one another and casually ask “shall we run this night section together?”.

There are times in our journey with Jesus where we feel like we walk in darkness. We read our bibles, but nothing connects like it used to. We pray for guidance, but God seems silent. We look for wisdom, but none is found. What once felt like an adventure unfolding in front of us is now a nightmare to navigate. St. John of the Cross called it "the dark night of the soul." Tozer called it "the ministry of the night". Every disciple experiences times like this, so how do we navigate them?

“Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.” Isaiah 50:10

The sort of darkness that Isaiah describes is not the darkness of evil or sin or separation from God. It’s the kind of limited light that all followers of Jesus experience in certain times and seasons. Isaiah’s solution is simple, trust the Lord, rely on God. This advice might sound facile but it is all too easy to ignore when fear and anxiety arise. When the lights go out, do we still trust that what God is present, even though we cannot see him? Or do we quickly turn to doubt and disbelief, scrabbling for alternative reassurances?

Just like a runner who makes provision for night time navigation, we can actively plan and prepare for these seasons of darkness. Knowing that darkness will come means we can be intentional about equipping ourselves to endure it well. Knowing the sun will rise again gives us courage to press on.

“Don’t forget in the darkness what God showed you in the light.” Unknown

In seasons where God’s voice is loud and clear, he is equipping us for moments of silence. We should actively store God’s promises and the truths he speaks over us. Write them down. Pin them to your wall. Memorise them. Record them for safe keeping. The when darkness surrounds we have confidence of God’s direction for out lives, even when we can’t see or feel it.

I’ll give you this one for free:

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” So we say with confidence “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

Great Dunn Fell out of the night

I often have conversations with people who are seeking God’s guidance but don’t have clear answers. "Should I do A or B?", "Should I stay or go?", "Why isn’t God guiding me?", "If only he made it clear". Often God has already given us the instruction. If we study the maps, we already know the course. After Paul warns Timothy about the dangers of straying from the narrow way (2 Tim 4:2-4 - see previous blog). He offers some sound advice:

“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge the duties of your ministry” 2 Tim 4:5

If I can be bold enough to paraphrase the great apostle:

“You’re not like those who run after their own desires. When things get dark, don’t panic. Don’t be drawn in by hallucinations but continue to trust the Lord. Embrace suffering because it’s part of the journey, the dawn will break. Until then, continue living out the gospel and pointing those around you to Jesus. Don’t down tools but keep on serving the Lord exactly where you are.”

Finally, all of this is made much more bearable is we share the dark miles with others. In my experience, two people navigating are far less likely to get lost... and you'll likely have a lot more fun.

Sunrise on the Summer Spine Race

“I would sooner walk in the dark and hold hard to a promise of God, than to trust in the light of the brightest day that ever dawned.” Charles Spurgeon

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This post is part of a series of short blogs titled Faith Endurance, based on a sermon series preached at St Peter’s Morley in Spring 2024. If you enjoyed this, subscribe (above on the left) to get notifications each time a new blog is released.