The Dark Has a Purpose

Well, what a day it has been! We’ve had another day of upheaval due to a truck breakdown and my whole days plans were once again thrown into disarray. One drama after another, with circumstances threatening to derail my peace of mind. I wasn’t sure whether I was coming, going or staying. But you know what? Even in the midst of all the chaos that was swirling around me, there was peace. Peace in the midst of the storm. Peace that only God can bring. Peace that was beyond my control. Peace that passed all my understanding.

I want to let you in on a little secret. The reason I was able to be calm in the chaos was because of time spent in the dark.

As most of you know, I spent a period of time a couple of years ago, in the dark. I went through what I felt was a fiery furnace, a very dark tunnel, with no light at the end. A sinkhole of immense depth. And yet, despite the darkness, the Lord was there with me all the time. He was right there beside me, waiting on me to call on Him. Drawing me to Him.

The time I spent in my pit of dark despair, was preparing me for days just like this.

Let me be honest with you here. Up until a couple of years ago, I did not react well to change. I didn’t like my routine being messed with. I didn’t like my schedule being thrown out of kilter. If I planned my day a certain way and something came along that threatened to derail it, I was not a happy camper. I resisted with every fiber of my being. I fought against it. I wanted my plans to stay in the order I had them.

But God, in all His wisdom, has ways of tossing our days into what we see as chaos, and reordering them into His perfect plan. God has worked an amazing change in my life over the years and has helped to loosen my tightly clenched fist, opening my fingers, one by one, until my palms were facing up, hands raised, in surrender, desiring what He saw was best.

During the difficult times in my life, God has shown me repeatedly, through His Word, that He is faithful and His ways are perfect. He has taught me how to handle the stresses that come into my life. He has taught me how to respond to change. He is teaching me how to respond and not react to the chaos that so often surrounds me on a daily basis due to the demands of a very unpredictable work situation.

And no, it hasn’t been easy. And no, I’m not perfect and I haven’t got it all figured out yet and some days I still react instead of respond, but God has continually shown me that although the purifying work of the Lord may hurt and though it may lead through some very dark valleys, He can and will help me to grow and mature and come forth as gold.

Do you remember the days before mobile phones and the ability to print photos out minutes after you take them? Do you remember the process you had to go through just to get a printed copy of a photo you took with your unwieldy camera, loaded with a cannister of film?

You had to take the photo, hoping and praying that it was in focus and composed properly, as there was no LCD screen to check, and then, once the film roll was all used up, you had to send it off to a film lab to be put through process after process before you could finally view your wonderful or not so wonderful photograph.

But do you know one of the most important steps in that tedious process? Yes. The darkroom. The darkroom was a very important step in the developing of the photograph. If at any time, during the darkroom part of the process, light was let into the room, then the photo would be ruined. The darkroom was crucial in the making of the finished product.

And so it is with us. The darkroom is used for developing. Our dark times are used for developing. God allows these times in our lives to develop us, to mature us, to make us more like Him. He wants us to grow and to learn through the trials He brings in our lives. He wants us to draw closer to Him and dig into His Word and hold fast to the promises we find there. He draws our attention to verses of scripture that will help us walk through our dark days. He brings people into our path that will encourage us with Godly counsel. He opens our eyes to the beauty of His creation and fills our ears with worshipful music to sooth our aching souls.

I sometimes don’t know why it is, at the end of an absolutely exhausting day, I feel like sitting down and writing instead of putting my feet up with an icy, cold drink. I suppose it’s God’s whispers to my heart, encouraging me to share what has been in my thoughts throughout the day. What I have to say may not be profound or deep, but I often feel that He just wants me to share, honestly, from the heart, in the hopes that those reading will be able to lift their tired eyes, raise their heads, that were bowed in despair, and open their hearts to what He has for them.

Time spent in the dark need not be wasted time. Time in the dark can be a time of growth and spiritual renewal. Seeds of doubt can be replaced with seeds of confidence.  Confidence that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised.

He will be with you in the fire. In the flood. Through the dark and stormy days.

Isaiah 43:2 KJV - When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Isaiah 26:3 KJV - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

 

 

 

Jillian Holmes- 3.6.21