Connie and I have had dark times, some REALLY dark! We experienced what was the darkest of our dark days several years back. I realize darkness, like tests, is different for each person. I am certain others have had even darker times. I grieve with you for what you had to endure. In our case, all we could do is hold one another as waves of memories flooded our mind. The only light we could dimly make out ahead of us was through eyes of faith.
I remember reading Psalm 18 where it reads in my distress [v 17 while the sorrows of hell surrounded him—that is darkness!] I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears (Psalm 18:6, ESV). Notice the environment did not get brighter for David. They turned even darker! Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet (Psalm 18:7-9, ESV).In verse eleven, David wrote: He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water. Psalm 18:11 (ESV)
I had always related God with light, not darkness, so reading this caught my attention. I then noticed the environment when God asked Moses to gather all the people. [They] came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness (Deuteronomy 4:11, NIV). The Psalmist also wrote, Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne (Psalm 97:2, ESV). It is obvious no one can put God in a box and say this is what He always is like. When talking to Moses, before revealing Himself to the Hebrews, God’s purpose was to make a deep impression in the minds of the people so they will learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth. (Deut. 4:10).
In David’s case, he wrote He [God] reached out and drew me out of deep waters (Psalm 18:16, ESV). When is it you can most vividly see God’s greatness? It is when you are in the lowest and most impossible situation and He stunningly delivers you from your plight. Why? God wants to stamp the greatness of who He is in your heart, so you can never deny He is God and you and I are not!
Jesus purposefully waited for His friend Lazarus to die. It was the painfully dark clouds of grief that made it possible for Lazarus’ sisters’ minds and emotions to internalize the stunning glory of God that was revealed when Lazarus came out of the grave. (John 11:40, ESV) While their ears had heard of God’s unparalleled power now their eyes beheld it as Job did. The black clouds of the crucifixion were part of the equation for Jesus’ history-changing, life-giving resurrection. They represent one of the tools the Holy Spirit uses to stamp the awesomeness of God in our memory and in our hearts. By tenaciously guarding our hearts while in the darkness, we will be enabled to experience the awe-inspiring vision of God’s greatness. It is that vision that will deliver us from mental and emotional chains that bind us. It will also build and sustain our faith for our future. Remember, God loves us enough to allow us to endure the darkness so we can experience His delightful future. Can you now place a higher value on the dark clouds in your life?