No light. No sound … except for the beat of his heart.
He had no idea where he was. He only knew his name.
John Le.
He couldn’t remember what had happened to make the lights go out.
He reached into the nothingness with both hands, like a blind man trying to find his way across an unknown landscape. His brain tried to focus on the current situation.
Darkness smothered him and wouldn’t let go.
He had a faraway thought that what was happening was all his fault.
No matter what direction he shuffled, he couldn’t find a way out.
That’s when his hands hit a jagged wall. It was damp and felt like dirt.
The cave!
A tiny fragment of the mystery had been solved.
I was running away from the dragon.
I couldn’t go any farther.
The cave called to me.
But no one had come to save him. The end of all things was the dark, cold cave.
No light. No joy. Just … nothing.
He was mad at himself for his bad decision. He should never have run into the cave.
For all those miles across the unforgiving desert, he outwitted the enemy. From the northern edge of the sea, all the way down the big river, he had run hard, staying one step ahead of the evil one.
Exhausted and mentally drained from all the wonders and signs he had witnessed, John needed to rest. The cave in the town of Bethany called to him like a powerful lighthouse beam that beckons lost souls in a storm—a strong light that reaches through the tempest and shines on the needy.
The cave called to his tired, frightened body and offered rest.
In fact, the cave offered him hope. If he could hide from the hideous beast that had followed him since this whole crazy trip started, then surely John would figure out a new plan.
There in the heart of the earth, he shuffled and followed the cave wall in an unknown direction. John prayed to see even a dab of light, but only the darkness remained.
God, please get me out of this!
Finally, a single point of light appeared on the horizon. John wasted no time and headed for it. Along the way, his feet hit things that felt like rocks and pebbles and even something quite large, but softer than stone.
The light never got bigger, but John got weaker.
God didn’t seem to be listening.
And John got more disoriented.
Anxiety wrapped its misty arms around him and yanked him deeper into the hole. Sweat dripped down his face, and precious air was getting hard to find.
“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!”
He heard the person’s voice—a woman’s voice—just as clearly as if she were in the cave.
“Hello?”
No answer.
“Hello? Who’s there?”
Still no reply.
John felt paralyzed. He had been managing the darkness without letting fear win. But the voice that talked about someone dying caused him to panic.
Why did the town of Bethany seem familiar?
Who died in Bethany?
Lazarus.
Was John in the same cave as Lazarus?
Something quite large, but softer than stone …
A body?
If that’s really the case, I’m in here with a dead man!
No. No. No!
John ran.
Straight into a wall.
And ran again.
Into another wall.
He tripped over unseen obstacles.
So hard to breathe.
John panicked.
Instead of escaping, he went farther and farther into darkness.
After what felt like an eternity, John gave up. Trying to escape the nothingness didn’t work.
He collapsed onto the damp earth.
The cave had now become his tomb. It wouldn’t be long before he too became a part of the void.
God, why don’t You help me?