God of the Night

The call.

A short while ago I received a desperate and urgent call from a friend of mine who wanted to talk to me. When I arrived at his house, I found him shaken and upset. Taking me by the arm, he led me away from the house so that his wife could not hear what he had to say. Then, in a voice that trembled with worry and fear, he told me of his experiences the night before. At this point, I must add that my friend is a normal, hard-working, practical man who is not spiritual or involved with the supernatural. He goes to church every Sunday and does his bit for the congregation when there is a function or event. At that stage in his life, he was having financial and other related problems. He insisted that he was wide awake and did not dream the events he described to me.

The Late Night Visitor.

Late in the night, he had awoken with a strange feeling that there was someone else in the room with him. At first, he heard and saw nothing, and then he felt a tugging on his blanket from the foot end of his bed. Looking down toward his feet he saw a little man pulling himself up onto the bed and then very casually sitting down and looking at him. What struck him was that although it was dark he could clearly see that the little man was painted from head to foot in colors of red, white, and blue. Then the little man began asking him pertinent questions about his work, his family, and his life in general. My friend said it was strange, but the little man seemed to know exactly the areas of his life in which he was struggling, but after each question, instead of waiting for a reply or for my friend to say something, the little man would laugh at him and each time louder and with more contempt. My friend said that in all his life he had never felt so afraid and so powerless. Then without a word or a warning the little man jumped off the bed and climbed out the window.

The Tokoloshe and Ghosts.

This was not the first time I had encountered stories of a little man that torments people at night. Zulu mythology, tells of the ‘tokoloshe’, a dwarf-like, mischievous person who feeds on peoples’ fears and inadequacies. Often, in houses in the south-eastern part of Africa, one will find beds raised on a stack of bricks, high enough to keep the little person from climbing up. In other instances, salt is strewn on the floor as a preventative. There is a belief that the salt burns the soles of the little man’s feet and keeps him away from the bed.

For a lot of people, the night is terrifying and a time of fear. For them, it is a time of creatures and demons, rogues and bandits, thieves and murderers, and the sinister and spooky. Even in the Bible, we read how afraid the disciples of Jesus were at night. Rowing their boat across the lake, they saw a figure coming toward them and assumed it was a ghost and fear gripped them:

Mark 6:49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:

:50 For they all saw him, and were troubled…

But then they heard His voice and the fear was gone:

And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

A Greater Power.

As I read my Bible, I have come to realize that there is a greater Force at work than all the demons and evil out there.

Deut. 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

And the more I read the more I see how He reveals Himself, His character, and works to us during the night.

In Genesis 15, God visited a restless Abram and promised His protection, His provision, and to give Abram that which he most desired, an heir.

It was at night that God demonstrated his abilities to Gideon, giving the Israelites an astounding victory over the Midianites. (Judges 6)

It was at night that God sent His angel to close the mouth of the lion so that Daniel could walk out of the den victorious. (Daniel 6)

It was at night that the angel brought the good news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in the field (Luke 2), and it was at night that Jesus rose from the dead, victorious over death. (Matt.28)

Even over the darkest night, the Almighty reigns, even in the darkest night His light shines. When the darkness threatens to overwhelm you, remember there is One greater than all the forces and terrors of the night and He “will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (Heb.13:5b-6)

The Outcome.

As for my friend we had a deep discussion about the supernatural and the demonic, we prayed and shared Bible verses and I gave him a bit of advice. The little man, to date, has not reappeared and my friend is more attentive in church, more willing to read his Bible and take part in prayer meetings. So at the end of the day, it is true:

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

In this case, the sinister worked well for the Kingdom.