Years ago, following World War II, a short poem was found carved on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany. The cellar was a place where many Jews had hidden during the holocaust.

The words of this poem have been translated, “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I cannot feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent.”

It’s hard for me to begin to imagine the horrors that the thousands of Jewish men, women and children experienced during those years.

Whole communities were wiped out; so many families were torn apart; and countless lives were destroyed.

But, in the midst of the terrible, real-life nightmare that was playing out in someone’s life, that person had the faith and the courage to carve those simple words into the wall of the place where they were hiding.

Those words may be simple, yet they are so profound.

What makes them all the more profound and powerful is knowing that the person who carved that message on that cellar wall was facing an uncertain future and more than likely a horrible, unimaginable death.

When we stop and think of our own personal struggles, our family troubles, and the heartaches of those we know and love, everything pales in comparison to what that individual was going through at that time so long ago.

Elie Wiesel, the well-known Romanian-born Jewish-American author, playwright, and university professor, is also a Holocaust survivor.

Wiesel, his parents and his three sisters were all sent off to German concentration camps.

His parents and his youngest sister died in those camps. He and his two older sisters survived.

Throughout much of his life, Wiesel struggled with his faith in God, and his personal view of theology, and yet he has been considered a man of great intellect and insight.

But through all that inner-turmoil, Wiesel always held on to a faith in God.

Maybe his inner-struggles concerning his God, the God of his fathers, only caused him to grow stronger in faith.

After hearing Wiesel speak during one of his lectures, a person approached him and asked, “How can you believe in God after all that has happened to you?”

He replied, “After all that has happened to me, how can I not believe in God.”

Life is filled with difficulties for all of us. Some of those difficulties seem major to us, and then we take a look at what others are going through, and our troubles seem minor in comparison.

For men and women of faith, we can be assured that we don’t have to go through the dark times alone. God walks through them with us.

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet recorded these words from God in chapter 43:1-3…. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God…”

Maybe it was knowing Holy Scriptures like those of Isaiah that strengthened Wiesel, during and after the horrors he experienced.

Although I have never experienced anything remotely similar to what Wiesel went through, I too find strength in the words of the prophet Isaiah, and in the Words of Christ.

As a pastor, a friend, and a family member, I have stood by the bedside of many dear Christian folks who were breathing their last breaths, and with every breath they took they were still praising the Lord.

They knew that He had been with them through all the ups and downs in their life, and they were holding on to His hand until the end.

When darkness surrounds us, when love seems to have evaded us, and when God is silent, my hope for you is that you can say: “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I cannot feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent.”