Christian Living

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Things Found in the Dark
Jmay 4-26-09
Inspired by Adrian Roger’s Message “Discipline of Darkness”

“Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.” Isaiah 50:10

What do we do when nothing seems to make sense? When the lights go out and we are left perplexed and in despair? We have been obedient to God and loving God, yet dark times come. Sometimes, those of greatest devotion to God know the deepest, darkest, darkness. They are well acquainted with sorrow and grief. Look at the life of Job. In Job 19:8 the Bible says; “He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.” God ordained the darkness in Job’s life. Habakkuk knew darkness…look what he says in chapter1, verses 2-3: “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are they that raise up strife and contention.”

The faith that was born in the Light is oftentimes developed more or grown much deeper in the dark. It’s true! Think about the times in your life you were closest to God. It’s when we are broken before Him in all humility…in our darkest times. Man throws away things that are broken, but God only begins to use us after we are broken before Him. There are treasures to be found in the darkness. Standing in the shadows of your darkness…you will find Jesus.

Many things are made known to us in our dark times that we would not have seen in the light. We learn and grow closer to God in the dark. Think about the stars in the heavens. They are always there, but we cannot see them in the light of day. Stars are treasures only seen in the black velvet of night. The same is true of God’s sovereign ways in our dark times. We grow closer to Him even though we may not understand or see the whys of our circumstances. We realize He is in control…we can do nothing but lean on Him and trust Him. We must stay upon our God. At the end of all Job’s troubles he said “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” That is faith grown in adversity.

If your sun has set and you are in darkness, rest assured it will rise again! God has a reason. He may be teaching you something so that you can relate to and help others through dark times. He may be revealing the ministry He has in store for you…or developing the spiritual gift of mercy in you. Or He could be getting your attention and drawing you back to Him if you have fallen away. Whatever the reason, trust Him and give thanks in ALL things. Praise Him through it all, even if you don’t feel like it. Andrew Crouch has a song that says “Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus; learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all…I learned to depend upon His Word.” Don’t stop worshipping God. Don’t stop praying and reading your Bible. He will reveal more and more of His mercy and grace to you if your heart is open and your spirit contrite. He will turn every tear into a pearl just as He turned Calvary into an Easter.

One day soon God will pull back the shades of darkness and pin them with the stars. All things will be revealed to us. And the dark nights we went through will all be understood. But for now, just know that our Heavenly Father knows what is best for His children. Remember these verses: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. And this one: “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night – but joy comes in the morning!” Psalm 30:5. Amen!

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