David was walking alone. It was pitch black all around him. The cloudy skies had veiled the moon and the stars. To him this was uncharted territory. He had no walking stick or flash light. So, he stretched out his arm trying to feel his way through the damp air. As he stepped into a deep ditch of dirty mud, he let out a short angry yell. The voices in his head started to torment him. “How did you get yourself into this place?” He straightened himself up and shaked off some of the mud sticking to his boots. He started to walk now ever so slowly. “Why did you come here? What is this place? If you yell or scream, would any one hear you? And if anybody hears you, will they be willing to come and help you out? May be there are others around here who are trying to feel their way through the same darkness?” Suddenly his head bumped into what seemed to be a branch of a tree. He felt the sharp shooting pain. As he touched his brow, he felt the sticky warm fluid oozing out of it. He stopped. “May be you should walk back? Oh…What difference does it make?” He started to yell at the top of his lungs hoping that he might discover some company. The growl of a wild beast was the only response he got and it sent a shiver down his spine. He has just betrayed his position to the animal. He thought of the tree, so he tried to find the wicked branch which cut his brow. He grabbed it and felt his way to the trunk…wait… He hesitated for a moment. Many possible dangers can be lurking in the braches of a tree. The voices in his head were getting louder and persistent. “How did you get yourself to this spot? Could you have avoided all this? Where did it all start? What will happen now?”

He felt the first droplets of the rain on his head and shoulders. Soon, torrents of water began pouring heavily, like the spigots of heaven broke loose all at once. He was still standing near the tree, thinking whether he should climb up. In a flash a huge bolt of lightening struck the tree and lit up the world for a split second. He was thrown a few feet away as the burning tree revealed the ugliness surrounding him. As he sat in the muddy ground he saw the vast desolate wilderness around. The clapping of thunder was deafening now, as more lightening was flashing around and chasing the few small creatures running scared for their lives. Finally the storm subsided as abruptly as it started. It didn’t last long, though it felt like it would never end. Everything went back into the dark as the torrential rain put out the fire. At least now he knows where he stands. Is it any consolation to realize the gravity of his situation in the middle of the valley of death? Wait…What is that sound? Running water…no, rushing water… lots of water. Flash flood. Before he knows it, the water was all over him. He was now tumbling uncontrollably until he was carried by the water in a mad dash over rocks, logs and other screaming animals towards the cliff… he was now flying in the air… falling… falling …the canyon seemed to have no bottom. “Is this real? Or is it the worst nightmare? How…just how did he get himself into that spot…Shall any one throw him a life line…or a mighty hand reach out and pull him up somehow? He had learned that DEFEAT STARTS AT THE POINT OF DESPAIR…yet…can there be any hope now?  

• This was a contemplation on Revelation 2:5  it was written and published in 2009 .. it is not related to ANY current events.