In every good story, there comes a point where the hero appears to be overcome by overwhelming obstacles. At this point, the storyteller leaves a silent space for us to wonder if and how the character could possibly overcome struggle. This is not meant to be the end of the story. But rather, it is an opportunity for the hero to rise from suffering into the person they are meant to be.

The reason this storyline is so effective is that it resonates with our own lives. At some point, all of us encounter the “silence space” where we lose hope and want to give up. In fact, we may experience this many times throughout the course of our lives. In these dark nights of the soul, we are forced to wrestle with difficult questions like: Where is God? Why am I suffering this way? How will I get through this?

The truth is God is nearest to us in our suffering, but we don’t often recognize Him there. We can’t see His hands moving because of the darkness, but they are delicately working on in that dark place– shaping our character into who we are meant to be on the other side of the struggle and comforting us in ways we may not even realize are Him. There is nothing like that silent space, for as painful as it may be, it is in our brokenness that we are most malleable for God to transform us into who He created us to be.