Trusting God In The Dark (1)

If the Lord is with us, why has... this happened?
Judges 6:13


One hundred years ago Germany's exclusive textile mills had special rooms dedicated to spinning the world's finest lace. Each room was dark, except for the light falling from a small window onto the weaver's work. That's because lace is more beautiful when the weaver is in darkness and his work is in the light. Usually God's purposes are revealed and His power displayed, in our darkest experiences when, like Gideon, you ask, "If the Lord is with [me], why has… this happened?" (Judges 6:13 ).
When there seems to be no rhyme or reason, God's promise is, "I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord… who [calls] you by name" (Isaiah 45:3 ).
Anybody can be faithful in good times, but standing "by night in the house of the Lord" (Psalm 134:1) takes real commitment. Hymn writer George Matheson wrote: "Will I remain in God's house by night… love Him in His own night… know I desire not the gift but the Giver? When I can stand in His house by night, I have accepted Him for Himself alone." When the Israelites faced their greatest challenge, the Red Sea, the Bible says, "All that night the Lord drove the sea back" (Exodus 14:21 ). Be encouraged, God is working, even though you can't see Him.
After all, how can God give us "songs in the night" (Job 35:10) if the sun always shines? Jesus said, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight" (Matthew 10:27 NIV). It's in life's dark places that God shares things which strengthen you, and encourage those around you.

You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will.
John 13:7


Mary and Martha were upset that Jesus didn't come until their brother Lazarus was dead. "Lord… if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (Jn 11:21 & 32 ). But instead of giving them reasons, Jesus replied, "Did I not tell you… if you believed, you would see [God glorified in this?]" (John 11:40 ). When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac he didn't understand, but later he witnessed God's faithfulness when Isaac was restored to him. Moses didn't understand why he had to spend 40 years in the wilderness, but later when God called him to lead Israel to freedom, he got it. Joseph didn't know why his brothers mistreated him or why he was imprisoned unfairly, but later he saw God's hand in everything. His father questioned why Joseph had been taken away from him, but later, looking into the face of the man who had been made governor and who'd saved the lives of the nation, God's purposes became clear.
Just like your children don't always think your decisions make sense, we don't understand God's ways. That's why Jesus said to Mary and Martha, "You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will" (John 13:7 ). God doesn't expect you to understand, but He does expect you to trust Him. In spite of his boils, bankruptcy and bereavement Job said: "When He has tested me, I will come forth" (Job 23:10 ).
Is God testing you? If He is, what are you learning? Is the experience making you bitter, or making you better by causing you to draw closer to Him?

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