Note: I wrote this in response to a fellow student’s posting from the mystics class.
I believe we tend to sense God more deeply in the darkness because we cannot rely on our five physical senses and must therefore rely on that deeper intuition that God is nearby. We must reach out for him with the hands of our soul, the eyes of our heart. Our souls echo with the eternal divine and when we let the senses of our soul fully explore the world, we can better sense “God’s incomprehensibility”. When it’s dark outside, when the night falls, it is only then we can see the brilliance of the stars. In the light, during the day time, we have no idea how “incomprehensible” the universe really is. God is much the same.
It might also be easier for God to touch us in the darkness because we don’t see what is coming and don’t have time to run away. As you so aptly said, we are more vulnerable in the darkness but while vulnerability can be the source of great fear, it can also be the source of great love and great joy. When we are vulnerable with another soul or with God, when we risk being hurt in the deepest places we hold inside ourselves, opening up to another and letting them feel our wounds and catch our tears, it is one of the most real things you can experience in this life, a treasure, a pearl reserved for the dark ocean depths of the human, divine spirit.
Darkness can be a wonderful thing in our lives. It is when we realize we cannot find our way on our own, to reach out, and take the hands of God. However, I think darkness is something God gives us, not something we should seek after. He gives it at the right time, lovingly, compassionately. The light is to be enjoyed as well, but when we do find ourselves in darkness, we must reach for the hands outstretched to hold us and let him guide us through.
365-09 #298