I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel (Isa. 45:3)
Ive walked in the darkness many times, and perhaps there are many of our brothers and sisters who are there at this very moment. We could ask: Lord, is there a secret in this darkness? And then we could ask HIM: Why Lord, have You chosen me to be led into this darkness? And then we could ask again: Lord, are their treasures hidden in this darkness to be found by me?
We all know the universal science that if we were to stand at the bottom of a deep, and dark well-pit, and look up to the sky, we will see the stars shining in the heavens, even when others above us at ground level are in the light, and they cant see the stars. Can we discover those hidden treasures in the darkness that we may never be able to find in the light?
We could pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, help me to learn the secret of turning all of my periods of darkness into occasions of delight, the delight of the discovery of Your hidden treasures, in Jesus Name!
Through our sufferings we can learn to be obedient just like our Lord Jesus Christ: though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Heb. 5:8). Can we grapple with all of our personal issues, problems, and sicknesses day-after-day, and stand at the end of a tunnel and peer into the darkness of our suffering of our soul, and realise that the dark tunnel may be the shortest route around our hill or mountain that obstacle that has been in front of us for a long time?
When we find ourself surrounded by darkness, we need to look for a meaning that lies within it, and begin to dig, by the light of our faith, for those treasures of meaning that are hidden within the darkness. Only those who dig in faith will find those treasures of darkness. But, in our process, we cant allow the darkness to overcome our body, or soul, nor allow it to drag our spirit down to such a degree that we may lose our faith and belief.
Do we find that challenging? Are we cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts?
Paul found many treasures in the darkness of his prison cell by the letters he had written. His letters enriched the lives of many Christians for centuries and will continue to do so for many more centuries. Our Lord Jesus Christ didnt allow Paul to be surrounded by darkness; HE gave him a large pick (a very small scribing pen) to dig for the treasure, which crystallised into immortal phrases in all of his letters.
Many of us do the same when we post on forums, as we scribe our knowledge and understanding of our treasures in the darkness.
We could pray: Lord Jesus Christ, I can see that the treasures of darkness come only to those who dig for its meanings. I will rejoice in it as I can turn the place of darkness into a place of discovery, in Your Precious Name!
Do we understand that when we are surrounded by deep darkness that we are not going to be exempted because we are believers? We can overcome and conquer it by the authority given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ through our obedience and discipline! There is little we can do to stop the darkness falling, but there is a lot we can do in making it to give up its hidden treasure.
Whenever we find ourself in a period of darkness, we must teach ourself to submit and draw near to him to be sober and vigilant and resist the roaring lion withstand and stand (James 4:7-10; 1 Pet 5:8; & Eph. 5:13), and then hold onto the idea that what matters, is not so much what is happening to us, but the meaning and knowing that we can get out of it. All our sorrows, hurts, offences, disappointments, frustrations, anger that we hold onto can cause much torment and harassment; and depending on how our will; pride; rebellion; thoughts; emotions; shortcomings and attitudes; assumptions; values; desires; needs; purposes; etc., can cause those difficult experiences in our lives, at any given time. However, they can be times of great spiritual advancement in maturity; as we confess, repent, forgive and love transforming and renewing our minds cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts as we fill our house with His Word and HIM, submitting to and drawing near to HIM with the right attitude knowing that our Lord Jesus Christ will allow nothing to come into our life unless it can be used to be perfect!
We could pray Lord Jesus Christ; help us to have the right attitude to all of our circumstances, and to Your Commandments, in Your Precious Name!
The experience of being engulfed in darkness can make us or break us; or shatter us or strengthen us. This darkness is not a cloud of guilt that descends upon us because of some sin we have committed, because HE allows the darkness, to come to us through other Christians, to deepen our understanding of HIM and HIS love, and to serve as a means of quickening our pace along the narrow path of our race of endurance towards the goal---the crown.
Ive walked in the darkness many times, and perhaps there are many of our brothers and sisters who are there at this very moment. We could ask: Lord, is there a secret in this darkness? And then we could ask HIM: Why Lord, have You chosen me to be led into this darkness? And then we could ask again: Lord, are their treasures hidden in this darkness to be found by me?
We all know the universal science that if we were to stand at the bottom of a deep, and dark well-pit, and look up to the sky, we will see the stars shining in the heavens, even when others above us at ground level are in the light, and they cant see the stars. Can we discover those hidden treasures in the darkness that we may never be able to find in the light?
We could pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, help me to learn the secret of turning all of my periods of darkness into occasions of delight, the delight of the discovery of Your hidden treasures, in Jesus Name!
Through our sufferings we can learn to be obedient just like our Lord Jesus Christ: though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Heb. 5:8). Can we grapple with all of our personal issues, problems, and sicknesses day-after-day, and stand at the end of a tunnel and peer into the darkness of our suffering of our soul, and realise that the dark tunnel may be the shortest route around our hill or mountain that obstacle that has been in front of us for a long time?
When we find ourself surrounded by darkness, we need to look for a meaning that lies within it, and begin to dig, by the light of our faith, for those treasures of meaning that are hidden within the darkness. Only those who dig in faith will find those treasures of darkness. But, in our process, we cant allow the darkness to overcome our body, or soul, nor allow it to drag our spirit down to such a degree that we may lose our faith and belief.
Do we find that challenging? Are we cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts?
Paul found many treasures in the darkness of his prison cell by the letters he had written. His letters enriched the lives of many Christians for centuries and will continue to do so for many more centuries. Our Lord Jesus Christ didnt allow Paul to be surrounded by darkness; HE gave him a large pick (a very small scribing pen) to dig for the treasure, which crystallised into immortal phrases in all of his letters.
Many of us do the same when we post on forums, as we scribe our knowledge and understanding of our treasures in the darkness.
We could pray: Lord Jesus Christ, I can see that the treasures of darkness come only to those who dig for its meanings. I will rejoice in it as I can turn the place of darkness into a place of discovery, in Your Precious Name!
Do we understand that when we are surrounded by deep darkness that we are not going to be exempted because we are believers? We can overcome and conquer it by the authority given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ through our obedience and discipline! There is little we can do to stop the darkness falling, but there is a lot we can do in making it to give up its hidden treasure.
Whenever we find ourself in a period of darkness, we must teach ourself to submit and draw near to him to be sober and vigilant and resist the roaring lion withstand and stand (James 4:7-10; 1 Pet 5:8; & Eph. 5:13), and then hold onto the idea that what matters, is not so much what is happening to us, but the meaning and knowing that we can get out of it. All our sorrows, hurts, offences, disappointments, frustrations, anger that we hold onto can cause much torment and harassment; and depending on how our will; pride; rebellion; thoughts; emotions; shortcomings and attitudes; assumptions; values; desires; needs; purposes; etc., can cause those difficult experiences in our lives, at any given time. However, they can be times of great spiritual advancement in maturity; as we confess, repent, forgive and love transforming and renewing our minds cleansing our hands and purifying our hearts as we fill our house with His Word and HIM, submitting to and drawing near to HIM with the right attitude knowing that our Lord Jesus Christ will allow nothing to come into our life unless it can be used to be perfect!
We could pray Lord Jesus Christ; help us to have the right attitude to all of our circumstances, and to Your Commandments, in Your Precious Name!
The experience of being engulfed in darkness can make us or break us; or shatter us or strengthen us. This darkness is not a cloud of guilt that descends upon us because of some sin we have committed, because HE allows the darkness, to come to us through other Christians, to deepen our understanding of HIM and HIS love, and to serve as a means of quickening our pace along the narrow path of our race of endurance towards the goal---the crown.
