Darkness
Joshua 24:7”He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt.”
I write this article on March 30, 2020, during the complete ‘LOCKDOWN’ period in our city Hyderabad, India due to Covid-19, Corona virus crisis that is now shaking the world. During this dark period where corpses are accumulating with no place for burial, I sought the Lord who offered me comfort in the dark and write this below sermon which I am sure would bless and encourage you!
GOD WORKING FOR YOU IN THE DARK: God is working out a miracle for you while it is still pitch dark! Be encouraged today! Do not give up, keep trusting God and remember to meditate on His promises. Steady prayer life, meticulous Bible reading will take you through the darkest moments because the Word of God is a lamp to your feet and light to your path. (Psalm 119:105)
In the above scripture we read about the miraculous way by which the Lord delivered the people from the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, (read: Exodus 14: 13- 21) the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, then God swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.(v 21) Glory to Jesus! Do not worry about the dark my friend, remember your God is the true Light of the world. “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.”(Micah 7:8)
During the last few years of her life, Ruth Graham, wife of great Evangelist Billy Graham who visited more than 200 countries around the Globe and preached the Gospel, was very sick and in order to strengthen herself, she kept a crown made of thorns in her room, so that whenever the pain gets bad she would look at the cross and remember the pain that Jesus endured on the cross and would feel comforted. Never take your eyes off Jesus during the period of crisis, don’t look around, don’t hear the noise just keep your eyes on Him who said: Psalm 50:15:”Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."
Walking in the dark! - Isaiah 50:10,11 " Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness And has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD And rely upon his God. Look, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled --- This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment.”
God spoke the above scripture to me when I was going through a severe dark period in our ministry and my own personal life. An avalanche of problems and pain gushed on me and threatened to topple me. But I thank God, if not for my severe fasting and hard prayers, I would have gone crazy!
After walking almost ten years with Him, just when I was blissfully dreaming of new openings for my ministry, God was closing almost all the present doors of ministry. The “My Delight” daily devotional magazine which was my passion was slowly dwindling. Freshly printed books, the sheen still on them, were stacked in bundles in the corner of the Printer’s office. We did not have funds to take delivery of them. Days were turning to weeks, yet we could see no light. The pain in my heart knew no bounds!
The financial crisis that we were facing were threatening to throttle us like never before. Our current bill, rent bill and maintenance bills were outstanding, it was the most embarrassing time in my ministry. I felt a total wreck. I wondered what would I answer my kids if the power was cut by the electricity board officials! How could I face them! This was truly a dark period in our life. I could truly relate to the miseries of Job when he says, “….He has set darkness in my paths (Job 19:8) However, on the last date of payment, God enabled us to make the payment. Praise God!
The ordeal was not over, though, there were other payments glaring daggers at us. There were severe riots in the city during that time and on a particular day, we had come to an absolute empty stage. Not a grain in the rice bag, no oil, no petrol, no milk and not a penny in the wallet. Nothing! Pitch Dark! My little son started crying and wanted some good food because we had been managing for a long time with bare minimum. Now, even that was gone! The adults can certainly manage, but what about the kid? I panicked! My husband said that he would draw Rs.100/- from the minimum balance amount of the bank and get some food. He walked to the bank because there was no petrol in the bike, after an hour he called me over the phone to say that all the banks and shops were closed because of the problems. He said that he would try using his debit card and purchase something from the supermarket in our colony which was fortunately opened. When he had taken all the items and about to submit his card, five thugs bombarded into the shop and forced them to close the shutters immediately. My husband called me to say that with all doors of opportunity closed, he was returning home with an empty bag. I kept the receiver down, buried my face in my hands and sobbed bitterly. I had never felt so broken in my life. What would I tell my son, daughter and the maid! I gathered myself after some time and felt the need to do something. I humbled myself to call the opposite house hindu lady and explained about the ATMs being closed ( I could not tell her that I had no money) and asked if she could give us some money.
She was at that time out on the roads hunting for an ATM and she said, “Bala, I actually wanted to ask you for some money because I have no money and now all the banks are closed, sorry.” I just sat in my chair staring at the walls. After half-hour, I received a call. When I picked up the phone, it was the same sweet, pleasant voice of that hindu lady, she said, “Bala, I just managed to spot an ATM, I have withdrawn some money, would Rs.2000/- be enough?” Ah, the voice was like fresh water gushing on a barren, broken land! I said, thousand rupees would do and I thanked her. God did not rush to wipe out all the problems in one go, He came in His own time to solve one problem at a time. I did have a giant faith of trusting God and none. I was flexing my faith muscles to live like George Muller. However, I guess I was getting swollen-headed and proud about my faith. God wanted to nip that out, hence, He allowed me to seek the help of my neighbor. I learnt huge lessons on humility while traversing a pitch dark path of ‘nothingness.’
Well, does it mean God had forsaken me? Never! During those dark moments, Holy Spirit brought scriptures and incidents from the Bible to my memory. One such incidence is Joseph being falsely accused and thrown into the prison. Joseph who feared God, loved God and obeyed Him was mercilessly charged with ’attempted rape’ and thrown into prison by the very man who showed great favor for Joseph. Genesis 39:20 says, ‘Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.” Joseph was humiliated, disgraced and put to shame in front of all who worked at Potiphar’s house. Now, how can we explain this? Well, we have the answer in the next scripture, verse 21says, “But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
I am speaking right now to a brother or sister reading this sermon, we need to go through every path in our life, rough and tough, holding on to the Hand of our Creator, rather than try to skip and do a long jump or high jump. It doesn’t happen that way. The prison was designed by God for Joseph. People going through marital, financial and emotional problems, wish them to vanish immediately. It can happen even to a church or ministry, when the spirit that once united a people has been broken by selfishness or petty concerns or may be there is barrenness in the ministry. But listen, we cannot immediately turn around the situation, we need to wait on God to deliver us from this dark period. There are treasures hidden in the dark! 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. “(Isaiah 45:3)
I found profound meaning in the scripture, Isaiah 50:10,11,“Who walks in darkness And has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD…” There would come a time in our life when we would be engulfed in utter darkness with no ray of light and in that path, God wants us to trust Him. Because we fear the Lord, love Him and obey Him, does not mean we are exempted from sufferings, but watch this, when there is no light, we are asked to trust in His name. Awesome! Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” Yes, though He did not dispel the darkness from our path at one go, yet He kept us from stumbling and falling. Though the path is eerie, yet we learn great lessons of faith in the dark. Warren Wiersbe has said, “We live by promises, not by explanations.”
After ten years in the ministry, we found ourselves with an empty bank balance, two grown up kids, a new city with a new environment, language problem and no ministry openings. To top it all, I was jeered and mocked at all sides! I cried on the inside, “GOD, HELP ME!” I loved Him much, I knew He is my only anchor, hence in the midst of the storm, I spent much time with Him. I would spend an average of five hours in prayer and would bury myself deep all day into His Word. I cried out to God like David in anguish “I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.” (Psalm 119:107)
My husband and I searched our hearts thoroughly and we were on our knees pleading God for mercy. When the above storm was blowing over us, we concealed the entire thing to our children and immediate family members. Just about this time, my husband received his credit card along with the ATM password. We had a couple of lakhs as our ‘credit limit’, but praise God, we never even looked at it as a source of solving our present financial crisis. What God started, we wanted Him to finish it. We did not even pledge our jewels at this point. We wanted to learn the lessons that God intended to teach us during the interim period. Paying our dues from our own sources would be belittling God’s glory. We dug our heels deeper, ground our teeth firm and stood rooted waiting for God’s deliverance! James O David says, “Sometimes, God removes all the answers in order to give us Himself. A relationship is more important than a reason.”God brings tough times into our lives not only to bring us back to him, but to bring us back to ourselves. To get us to see the world the way He sees it. To get us to be more considerate and compassionate towards people. So, if the light has been removed from the situations of your life, then God in his wisdom has allowed you to be in the darkness. If God is the One who has allowed darkness to come your way, then do not be foolish to light your own fire. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
As a kid I remember visiting my grandparents during my holidays, who lived in Kodaikanal, a lovely town situated on a hill, where my mother was born and brought up. The town is simply fascinating with mountains all around, thick foliage of trees and the aroma of the Eucalyptus trees captivates a person. The hill folks are hospitable and simple, for those with a yen for trekking, there are umpteen trekking opportunities there. One has to travel a long distance in order to reach the town to purchase necessary commodities for the household, I remember tagging along with my grandpa to the town. At times, thick fog would cloud the way and we would not be able to see the path clearly, it’s quite an eerie journey with steep curves and bends. But my grandpa would walk swiftly and confidently because he was used to the path and he knew the way. As a kid I would hold his hand and walk along with him without fear. I don’t have to know the way or see the path, because grandpa knows it and all I have to do is to stay close and walk along with him. Now after several years, sometimes life gets eerie too, there are times that I don’t know where to turn and my vision is blurred. I am glad that I have the strong Hand of Jesus like my dear grandpa and I can just stay close with Him and tag along wherever He takes me. I don’t have to know the way, it is enough that He knows the way! He is the way!
I would like to quote a few lines from the book “Perfect Trust” authored by Charles Swindoll: “God says to us, “Don’t run! Don’t escape! Don’t give up! Let your faith run its course, that you might know how good I can be.”
TRUSTING GOD IN THE DARK: Judges 16:28 “Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, "O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!"
Oh, what a prayer! Most passionate prayer during darkest moment of his life! Samson pleaded the Lord, ‘remember me!’ Do you think God had forgotten Samson? Never! Even though Samson’s eyes had been plucked off, the Lord’s eyes were fixed on him! Well, we are able to make such a powerful prayer only when we are brought to nothing! With his eyes plucked away, head shaven, bound with bronze fetters and when he became a grinder in the prison, that is when his spiritual eyes looked up to the Creator. Glory to Jesus! My eyes brim with tears as I write this…….
How his heart would have bled to hear the Philistines blasphemy the Lord, praise their god and also call him ‘the enemy!’ The most humiliating moment came when Samson was asked to perform in front of the pagan gods; while the Philistines danced, ate and were having merry. All the while, I guess Samson cried in his heart and repented for his sins. Never despise the dark moments in your life, God does a deeper work in our hearts during such times. Period of adversity, pain and persecution helps us to analyze and set right our lives. It is now that Samson musters all his strength to make the last plea unto the Lord. Samson cried, ‘strengthen me, I pray!’ The man who did great and wonderful works through the power of the Holy Spirit, was now crying for His strength! While locked in the hands of his enemies, he clearly understood that his strength was not in his hair but was in his connection with God. Do you get me? Mathew Henry said: ’If God go, the glory goes, and all good goes. Woe unto us if He departs!’ Our strength comes from the Lord! The Lord tells His people, “I will strengthen you…” (Isaiah 41:10) God did answer Samson’s prayer, “So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.” (Judges 16:30)
