Lost in the Woods

Have you ever been lost in the woods at night? I can tell you from personal experience that it is not something that you would enjoy. It happened to me many years ago while I was staying at a Boy Scout Camp near Alliston, Ontario. It was a winter weekend and I had decided to go out snow shoeing late in the afternoon. The Camp Ranger had told my friends and I that just on the edge of the Scout property stood an abandoned pioneer cabin that was over 100 years old. Being a history buff by nature, I decided to set out to see if I could find and then explore that old cabin.

Well, I can tell you, I found the cabin, but got lost trying to get back to the Camp. It was very windy that afternoon and I never expected that my snowshoe tracts would get filled in so quickly. To my horror, the trail back to the Camp was gone! There was absolutely no trace of it whatsoever! Quickly it seemed, afternoon turned into evening, and I was still lost. I can remember thinking about the possibility of sleeping in a snow bank over night, but decided to press on instead. It’s strange how the mind plays tricks on you when you are really afraid. The wind seems to howl that much louder, and every noise in the forest seems to catch your attention. Panic sets in quickly. I can remember feeling a growing desperation to get home. But just as I was wondering what to do, suddenly off in the distance I could see a light shining in the darkness. Through the trees I could see a warm, welcoming light shining out of the window of one of the Scout Camp cabins. I was safe! I had made it! Never did light shining from a cabin window look so beautiful!

I think all of us know that the person who does not know Jesus Christ experiences those feelings of desperation and lostness. So many feel an inner emptiness that just doesn’t seem to go away no matter how hard they try to cover it over. But there is good news! In the midst of the darkness, Jesus shines out as an answer to the desperate situations people face. In John 8:12 He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (NIV).