Psalm 139:11-12 AMPC
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be [the only] light about me,
Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.
If you are in the midst of dark times right now. It may seem like the Lord is very far away.
Your life may be a mass of confusion with uncertainty the only certainty!
It's a very hard place to be.
These are times when the only comfort is the Word of God. Feelings are misleading and spiritual strength seems to lay in a crumpled heap.
This excerpt from Psalm 139 tells us that God sees through the darkness. He hasn't lost sight of your life. Indeed, dark or light are both in His Hands.
You've got to love Job in his response to adversity:
Job2:7-10 Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
Job went from bad to worse in his life as he was attacked by satan (with the Lord's permission!).
Oh! the mystery of such a test. Who could withstand it? Even Job's wife was of no support to him. And, if you read on, his friends were sure he'd done some secret sin that he was being punished for.
What a solitary experience is undeserved suffering in dark times.
Satan was so sure he could shake Job's confidence in God, as he didn't know Job's heart. He only "thought" he knew!
God saw deeper and had a plan to bring Job out with a stronger faith and a richer future.
Job 23:9-10
When He is at work in the north, I do not see Him; when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him.
But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
It seems that all true believers will be called, at some stage, to have their faith tested through dark times.
Recently, we watched a movie called "I still believe" the true story of Jeremy and Melissa Camp. They fell in love at college only to discover that she had cancer. In spite of that they married, believing she would be healed. In the event, she died shortly after their wedding.
The film traces the emotions of Jeremy after her death. When he wrote "I still believe".
Friend, if your faith is lying in the ashes, cling to God's faithfulness. God sees you and trusts you enough to come through this.
Isaiah 45:3
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness— secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
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