It is true that light is a dominant metaphor for God, truth, holiness, etc. And darkness is mainly a metaphor for evil, deception, or sin. “God is light,” as John writes in one of his letters.
Yet this does not meal that all darkness is bad or evil. Sometimes, even in the Bible, darkness relates to God positively rather than negatively, as the very place where people encounter him.
Moses meets God in the smoky cloud covering Mount Sinai.
A cloud covered the Tent of Meeting in the wilderness.
In Jerusalem, a cloud filled the Temple.
The writer of Psalm 18 sings, “dark clouds were under his feet… He made darkness his covering… Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced.”
On a mountain, as Jesus’ glory was revealed to his disciples, a cloud enveloped them and they heard the audible voice of God.
Jesus, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,” would go off alone to pray.
The darkness of God is a way of describing holy mystery. The transcendence of God above all that we can perceive with our senses. The imminence of God beyond all that our intellect can compute.
This darkness may be a state of unknowing, but it is also a state of profound intimacy.
God is often met in the darkness. Not only in the light of day. He is often found in moments that feel dangerous or unwelcoming. His voice is often clearest in obscurity.
(See Exodus 24:12-18).