The Discipline of Darkness
Text -Isaiah 50:1-11, 51:1-6
What do we do when the lights go out?
Many people struggle with the darkness, physically and emotionally. Darkness can be scary and can bring fear and hopelessness. How many times have you seen days of dark, dull weather suddenly replaced with the gleaming light of the sun? How often have we felt the cold, chilling fingers of autumn instantly lose their grip as the sun brightened the sky overhead? We have all seen gloomy days immediately transformed by the appearance of light. In this article my focus is not the physical light, but to the spiritual facet of human life. However dark, dank and dreary a day may be, when I am exposed to the light of the word of God I am instantly brightened. They are like a warm ray of light in a dreary place. Bible says “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).
Even those who walk closely with God will experience times of darkness. There are times in our life when nothing seems to make sense. Our natural response to difficult times is to cry out to God “why”. Only God has the answer to that. Our questions suppose to be not “why” but “How”: How are we going to act, react or interact? When God does a deep work, it is not easy. Surgery hurts. But it brings healing, hope, and better future, but it hurts. Our text says “If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.”(Isaiah 50:10) Faith, like film, is developed in the dark; those of greatest devotion may know the deepest darkness. God wants to develop our faith. When you go through darkness and come out on the other side, you’ll learn things you never knew before.
Job says “For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.”(Job 5:7) The existence of suffering in a world created by a good and almighty God is a fundamental theological dilemma. The fall of man and the general sinfulness of the race ensure a certain amount of suffering to every innocent child who is born into the world. Sin begets suffering. So trouble is born with us. SUFFERING IS UNIVERSAL AND INEVITABLE. Every human being has many pains, troubles, anxieties, to bear. And every saint has his own dark days or sufferings. 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 God. 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?”(Matthew 11:3) 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. Three examples of those whose faith was developed in the dark: 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. The apostle John was in exile to the Island of Patmos when he wrote the book of the 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)
A Christian reflection on pain must end with a vision of heaven, the true end and home of humanity. This is why Apostle Paul said “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18) He contrasts the "suffering of the present time" with the glory of heaven. One thing is sure: suffering is an important element of the Christian faith. As the apostle Paul wrote: “ I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Philippians 3:8). It takes courage to live through suffering; and it takes honesty to observe it.
Therefore 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. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Second we must “rely on our God” Apostle Paul had much to boast about-his qualifications are found in Philippians 3:4-6. However, he understood that impressive "credentials" are not what really matter. Paul rightly saw that knowing Christ and relying on Him are the source of genuine value in life. Writing from places that were lowly in both a physical and emotional sense, the apostle is a triumphant example of how believers should view themselves- The best way to do that is to recognize God as the source of our power: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippines 4:13).
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. 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."
There are some things that we can only understand in the darkness. There are treasures in the darkness. Those things which men discover to-day are treasures which have been in darkness for countless generations, jewels which have been concealed in hidden places during millenniums. Isaiah 45:3 says "I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” 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.
One of the great dangers of darkness is that you may be tempted to light your own fire. 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, 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 have a child of their own. God gave a wonderful promise. However, God did not fulfill that promise instantly .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?
