When All Seems Dark, What Can I Do?
A young mother was weeping with me because her husband is sucking the life blood out of her and she doesn’t know what to do with her marriage. A hard-working fifty-year old was groaning from his hospital bed because infection was wrecking havoc in his body, and he feared losing his leg. A divorcee, struggling to raise her teen-age daughter alone, was clenching her hands as she described her abusive work environment, where she is stuck because she needs the job. All of these dear people are struggling with their personal version of darkness.
I asked the Lord what his Word said about darkness. What might be an encouragement to all of us when we find ourselves in darkness? Holy Spirit directed my attention to Isaiah 45:3, and I would like to share the insights He gave me.
(Isaiah 45:3, NKJV) I will give (#5) you the treasures of darkness (#4) and hidden riches of secret places (#6), that you may know (#7) that I, the LORD (#2), calls you by your name (#1), for I am the God of Israel (#3).
Insight #1: Within the darkness God calls YOU by name. This verb “to call” is not just a loud shout, but a summons, an invitation to you as a unique and beloved person. He knows you are in the Darkness and He wants to join you there. In Hebrew the word “name” (shem) is a mark of individuality, a special label just for you. It suggests God knows all about you, loves you and craves being with you, even in the darkness.
Respond to His invitation.
#2. Within the darkness God is present. Who is this God? He is Jehovah, the LORD, which means He is the Creator, the Beginning and the End. He has dominion over everything, everything, everything! This includes family, health, jobs, hearts and homes and all you need.
Ask Him for what you need. Then wait for His response. It will come, although it may appear different than you expected.
#3. And Jehovah also goes by another name, the Tri-une God (Elohiym). They (Father, Son, and Spirit) dwell in your darkness with Their omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (every where at once). They are the Great I Am.
Furthermore, the people who make Elohiym their God are called “Israel”, which means “Our God prevails.” You are prevailing. Through Jesus, you will have a complete victory. God is perfectly aware of your struggling with darkness, AND He is in it with you for the purpose of your overcoming.
Expand how you connect with God. Reach out for all aspects of our Three-in-One God.
#4 “The treasures of darkness” tell us what the LORD is going to do for you WITHIN the darkness. The Hebrew word for darkness includes misery and sorrow, destruction and death. Throughout the Bible, God speaks into the darkness, through the darkness, and about the darkness.
Word search “darkness” and see what you find. Here are my suggestions about God helping in darkness:
— God gives us the gift (#5) of a treasury of weapons to use. All Biblical promises are included in this comprehensive gift God has entrusted to you. Take the time and find the promise that best suits your situation and claim it with praise and gratitude.
— God calls you to the experience of the secret place (#6). This is the solitary place you go to hear the still, small voice of God. In your secret place you will grow in knowing (#7) the LORD. Do you recall that the word for “to know” God is the same as to “live intimately” with God, like a husband knows his wife? You become one with The Almighty.
Take the time to absorb Elohiym: to praise the Father, to look into the eyes of the Son and to breathe in the Holy Spirit. If you are in darkness, don’t rush around, frantic to dispel the night of your soul by activities, or moanings and groanings. Take the time to come into the Light of Jesus.
— God gives us the Person of Jesus. When the Son of Man was crucified, He took upon His person all our misery and sorrow, pain and suffering. When the Son of God was resurrected, He annihilated — yes completely defeated — death and destruction. These FACTs are the Treasure of Darkness which our Heavenly Father lavishly bestows upon us.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus felt strongly in his gut (Greek = splagchnizomai, pronounced splag-kneed’-zō-my) about the darkness that threatened the people who came to Him. The word conveys His feeling compassion, pity, anger, and indignation. In every case, Jesus responded to the need of the person who stood in front of him.
His gut is stirred up for you, too.
The LORD desires to meet you in your darkness.
Thank you, Jesus. We claim that by faith, even when we don’t see it or feel it.
In Christ,
