Natalie... God's angel who became my inspiration"I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness" (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 inbetween? 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 mountain top alone. God doesn't always light the path in advance, but He promises, "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown" (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, "I ... heard about You before, but now I 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, "To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same 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" (Isaiah 45:3).
From the previous writing of Night Vision
1. God promises us peace, but not smooth sailing or immunity from life's problems.
2. Faith is like film; it's developed in the dark.
3. Dark days make us lean on God in ways we normally wouldn't.
4. If our faith was never tested we wouldn't be motivated to pursue God and draw closer to Him.
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.
My own thought ...
If God uses darkness (tests and trials) to teach us, then we must make a distinction between 2 darknesses, i.e. darkness that is purposed to destroy us is from satan, but darkness used as a teaching tool to form us is from God.
Night Vision - Conclusion
When the darkness you're experiencing is God-ordained, don't try to create your own light: "You who live in your own light .. will soon fall down in great torment" (Isaiah 50:11).Abraham decided to kindle his own fire when God's promise of an heir didn't materialise quickly enough. Tired of waiting, he decided to go it alone by fathering Ishmael and ended up creating problems that would last for generations. God had already promised to liberate Israel, but Moses took it upon himself to do things his way. As a result he killed an Egyptian slave master and spent the next 40 years in the wilderness (Exodus 2:11-15). Peter promised to follow Jesus to prison and to death (Luke 22:33), but because he didn't wait for instructions he ended up lopping off an innocent man's ear.
When you're in darkness by divine design you don't have to be afraid. God will bring you through. Why are we so sure? Because the Bible gives us great promises like: "Light arises in ... darkness for the upright" (Psalm 112:4), and "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). The 40 days Moses spent alone on the mountain, Elijah's stay on Mount Horeb, and Paul's years in the Arabian desert weren't wasted experiences; they were part of God's plan.
Jesus said, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight" (Matthew 10:27). Notice two things in this Scripture: (1) It's in your worst moments that God gives you some of your best insights. (2) People will listen to you because you've 'earned the right to speak'. So sit tight and let God teach you things which can only be learned in the dark.
Lief jou baie Robbie!
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