May 5, 2013 … God Going Dark

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 125

Passage of the Day: Psalm 10: 1 [NLT] ……  
1 O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?  
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Psalms, Chapter 10 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Job 30: 26 : [When God seems to go dark.] …[NKJV] …  
26 So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell.

Reference Passage #2: Deuteronomy 31: 6b [quoted in Hebrews 13: 5]: [No matter where God SEEMS to be, He is never going to leave us or forsake us] … [NKJV] …  
6 Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid of them! The LORD your God will go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you.”

Reference Passage #3: Hebrews 5: 8 : [Even Jesus learned obedience through suffering.] …[NKJV] … 
  8 So even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

My Journal for Today: Why does God seem to go dark at times? … Ever been in a place of suffering or trial, when God SEEMED to have abandoned you? We’ve all been there … somewhere … at some time … in our lives, haven’t we?

Job sure got into that place; and his entire account in the Bible is to show us the truth of Deuteronomy 31: 6, which I’ve copied above to remind us that God may go dark at times; but He will NEVER leave us, nor forsake us. And we must remember (see Heb. 5: 8 quoted above) that even Jesus, while He walked this earth, learned obedience from His Father through suffering. Yes, ... if that reality is good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me - or you.

Os Hillman, in his devotional today, posits a very plausible reason for this seeming mystery of God going dark. He says, …  

" When we are taken into these dark periods, we begin to see light that we never knew existed. Our sensitivities become heightened and our ability to see through spiritual eyes is illuminated. Unless we are taken into these times, our souls never develop any depth of character. We do not gain wisdom, only knowledge. Knowledge is gained through understanding; wisdom is gained through the experience of darkness." 

One of my most common prayers (almost every day), which I’ll pray below, today, is … “Lord, shine Your light on my path so that I might clearly see and follow Your light.” … But there are times, … maybe you’re in one today, … when God seems to have taken a “walk-about,” as the Aussies would say, … when God seems way-far-away and uncaring.

But He’s there! Always there; and He is looking for us to seek Him. Remember that great exhortation from Jesus to a lukewarm group of Christians in Rev. 3: 20! [And if you haven’t got this one memorized, contextualized, and internalized – YOU SHOULD; but if not, go back and meditate on its truth as Jesus’ answer to today’s mystery of God going dark.]

My Prayer for Today … Oh, my Lord, continue to shine Your light on my path through Your word; and I will follow you – even in the darkest times. … Amen