Friday - February 6th

Good Morning:

The darkness that comes in our lives has many different forms: depression, loneliness, anxiety, jealous, fear, troubled relationships, loss of employment, illness, problems with children/children with problems, etc. - we must know God well enough, trust Him in everything and find our way to Him in the darkness.


Night vision
''Who is among you who...fears the Lord...yet...walks in darkness...?' Isaiah 50:10

God promises us peace, but not smooth sailing or immunity from life's problems. The Bible says you can 'fear the Lord yet walk in darkness and trouble.' Check your Bible:
a) Job lived an exemplary life yet he lost everything. Troubled and perplexed, he cried, '[God] has blocked my way...he has shrouded my paths in darkness (Job 19:8)
b) Jeremiah, after preaching to a rebellious people who beat and imprisoned him, said, 'Oh, that...my eyes [were] a fountain...I would weep day and night for...my people' (Jeremiah 9:1)
c) Paul suffered so much he '...despaired even of life' (2 Corinthians 1:8). Faith is like film; it's developed in the dark. Dark days make us lean on God in ways we normally wouldn't. The truth is, if our faith was never tested we wouldn't be motivated to pursue God and draw closer to Him. Edward Mote wrote: 'When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.' It's easy to praise God when your health is good and your bills are paid. It's when light suddenly turns to darkness that we discover what our faith is made of and where our trust truly lies. It's in those seasons, that we develop night vision!


'I will give you the treasures...stored in secret places...' Isaiah 45:3

Sometimes God doesn't tell us why because He wants us to know who. In Psalm 23, David goes from talking about God, 'The Lord is my Shepherd,' to talking with Him, 'Thou art with me.' What happened in between? David learned that no matter how dark the way is, the Lord is there to guide us. He discovered that it's better to walk through the valley with God than stand on the mountaintop alone. God doesn't always light the path in advance, but He promises, 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee...' (Isaiah 43:2). When you feel like you're out of your depth or in over your head, claim the promise! Job had many unanswered questions, but when he began to understand the difference between reason and relationship, he told God, 'My eyes had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you' (Job 42:5). When you can't find the reason, trust the relationship. God won't fail you. Contrary to what you may think, darkness isn't always the work of the enemy. Sometimes it's one of God's best teaching tools. '...about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea...And when they saw Him...they were greatly amazed...beyond measure, and marvelled' (Mark 6:48-51). You get to know the Lord by going through storms with Him. The Psalmist said, '...the night is as bright as the day , for darkness is as light to you.' (Psalm 139:12). So instead of running from your problems, ask God to develop your night vision, to show you 'the treasures of darkness...hidden in secret places'.


Blessings for the week-end
Pastor J.