Sunday, January 25, 2015

DARK

God is the Lord who dwells in unapproachable light.

And yet, He's consistently found in dark places.

He understands darkness - He understands sadness - He understands discouragement.  He's Man of Sorrows.

Sometimes God is in your darkness.  There are times life feels like a giant hole - you can't rise out - it seems there's no relief - light won't break through.

We don't like talking about this much.  Give me the victory speech!  The 'I'm an overcomer' talk.

But a person of faith can be discouraged.  Dark moments are sometimes part of the faith experience.

'A person of faith can be discouraged.'

We need to push back on our nice-and-pretty Evangelical culture that has erroneously told us: 'This thing can't be part of your Christian walk.  It's too dark.'

Yes, it can.

In fact, darkness is sometimes the very stuff of new life.  You don't get to the resurrection without going through the grave.  No matter how cold and brutal Winter is, blooms ultimately break through in Spring.  Life comes from death.

So lift up your head.  Spring is coming.

And be blessed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes PK, there can be a light at the end of your dark tunnel. I remember the time I was out of a job for a considerable amount of time. I thought that I might never find work and I had lived paycheck-to-paycheck, so I didn't have a cushion. My Mom helped me, but I felt so guilty and a burden to my family. I felt as if I was nothing but a problem and a drain for them.

Those were some pretty bleak days. I couldn't see that it would get better. I tried to end my life, but God wouldn't let me. The thing is, things did turn around. Even though I thought it would be better if I wasn't around my family loved me and they were worried about me.

In time, the color in my life bloomed again. It really wasn't too awfully long when I did find a job and made my own way in my life. God didn't let me go and He was holding my hand all along. I just didn't see it until I came out the other side.

So, yes...there is a silver-lining even to our suffering. It is going thru those times when you realize your blessings and it lifts you up. God is on our side. Just understand that there are better days ahead. I can assure you of that, because I have lived it.