At night, the Yidden had an: עַ מוּדֵא ש pillar of fire leading them. This symbolizes when a person is in the “night” mode, and doesn’t have the courage and strength to fight because he is in a state of darkness. This can be for various reasons, e.g., because he never learned Torah, or he has so many challenges, or he's somewhat dysfunctional. A person who finds himself in such a situation has to brighten his darkness and look for the light, and accept his situation. Just being happy & seeing the good in your life can be your sole Avoda.
The same person can have both: גּוֹל לֵאוֹרֵמִׁ פְ נ יֵחשֶ ךְֵוְחשֶ ךְֵמִׁ פְ נ יֵאוֹר light and darkness. That’s the way Hashem made the world; a person can have both situations. שֶ בַ עֵיִׁ פוֹלֵֵצַ דִׁ יקֵוָקָ םֵֵמשליֵכדֵטזֵ A person goes up and down. Sometimes he grows, and sometimes he just sits around. At times of: חשֶ ךְֵ“darkness”, you don’t necessarily try to improve, because you may get depressed since you are unable to. In such situations, it’s time to just look for light and be Sameach B'chelko.
