Trust God In The Darkness.
“If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.”
Isaiah 50:10
There are times in our lives, as God’s people, that we have to serve God in the midst of darkness. If you are in darkness, it does not necessarily mean that you are out of the will of God or that you have sinned before the Lord. We must continue to stand on God’s Word. The promises of God remain the same whether the sun is shining or darkness comes to us. When you are in the dark, you do not have to have an explanation, you need God. A relationship is more important than a reason. God desires to even use us in the midst of darkness. Thus it is more important to be with God in the valley of darkness than to be on sunlight peaks without Him. Job said, “God has put darkness in my path” (Job 19:8). Habakkuk exclaimed, “How long shall I cry and you not hear (Hab. 1:2). John the Baptist sent messengers from the prison and asked Jesus, “Are you really the Messiah or should we look for someone else?” Each of these great men of God came to a time in their life that they did not understand or comprehend why and what was fully happening to them.
Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light. The test of our character is not what we do in the light. The test of our character is what we do in the dark. It has been said, “We can dress as though we are intelligent, but when we open our mouth people will know whether we really are intelligent or not? There is a difference in trusting God when things are going well and when everything seems to go wrong. Isaiah says “trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” The Bible never guarantees a life free from darkness. But the dark moments of our life last only as long as necessary for God to accomplish His purposes. The Lord uses trials, difficulty, and pain to equip us for more effective service to Him. As you and I continue to trust and obey Him, God uses hardship to develop the character of Christ within us. How does God develop our faith in the darkness? God tells us to take two steps.
First, we are to look to the Lord (“trust in the Lord”). Warren Wiersbe has said, “We live by promises, not by explanations.” Just because it does not make sense to us, does not mean that it does not make sense to God. Just because it does not make sense now, does not mean that it will not make sense later. Thomas Watson has said, “Where reason cannot wade, faith must swim.” We must continue to stand on God’s Word regardless what is going on in life. God’s Word never changes. It remains constant through all of the seasons of our life.
Second we must “rely on our God” Isaiah 45:3 God says "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel." Faith in God means we rely on him and depend on his reliability. Having faith means realizing that God is bigger and greater than any troubles that you go through. Genuine faith is relying on God's direction and on who he is. God is reliable. So what we need to recognize as dark periods in our lives are designed to be treasures from God. There are treasures of darkness. For example, have you ever heard someone say, “The stars are out tonight?” The fact is that the stars are out in the daytime, but we cannot see them because of the sunlight. There are some treasures of darkness that are only revealed at night. In the light we see that which is near, but the darkness we see that which is far away. In the light we may think our brightest thoughts in the day, but we will think our deepest thoughts during the night. We may learn more about others during the day, but we will learn more about ourselves during the dark. You will gradually realize that in the darkness you were learning some eternal truths.
If God is the One who has allowed darkness to come your way, then do not be foolish to light your own fire. In other words, do not try to undo what God is doing. A manmade fire is deceptive. In contrast to the righteous (Isa 50:10), the unrighteous, in times of darkness, instead of trusting in God, trust in themselves (kindle a light for themselves to walk by) Isaiah 50:11 says “But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.” For example, God told Abraham that he and Sarah would eventually have a child of their own. God gave a promise. However, God did not fulfill that promise immediately. Abraham, in the midst of his darkness of doubt, created his own fire with Hagar. Ishmael was born. Think about the suffering that came to Abraham and the world because he did not wait on God in the midst of his darkness. Has darkness come to your life? Are you waiting on God or are you creating your own fire? John Milton, in the darkness of his blindness, wrote Paradise Lost. While John Bunyan was in the Bedford Jail, London, England, he wrote Pilgrims Progress. During John the Revelator’s exile on the Island of Patmos, he wrote the Book of Revelation. This is why David, the ancient Jewish king said “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I may learn thy statutes.” (Psalm 119:71)
