Influencers Weekly Devotional

Go With ME

Embracing our Sacred Responsibility with Christ

He Turns Darkness Into Light

"He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth – the Lord God Almighty is his name." - Amos 4:13 (NIV)

Darkness defined can mean many things. For example: 1. the state or quality of being dark: The room was in total darkness. 2. absence or deficiency of light: the darkness of night. 3. wickedness or evil: Satan, the prince of darkness. 4. obscurity; concealment: The darkness of the metaphor destroyed its effectiveness. 5. lack of knowledge or enlightenment: heathen darkness. At various times in my life, I have sampled all aspects of darkness. The most frightening to me are the darkness of evil and the darkness of feeling alone from God. It seems that the last two are closely connected, as Satan preys on a Christian who lives in the darkness of a sinful lifestyle, and this lifestyle creates a disconnect from his intimacy with God. There is also a darkness which is a pruning time for Believers, when God seems far away for no apparent reason. In all cases, I have discovered that although God seems far away, He isn't. He is always responsive to a repentant man who recognizes his sin, regrets it, and turns from it. God is always close to one who is being pruned, and though we think He seems to linger too long before providing a response to our cries for help, He is right on time with an answer. His timing is profoundly precise. And God is always ready to go to battle for us when the darkness of evil invades our life. But when darkness surrounds us, we often cannot see a solution, and we become discouraged. "Why does it have to be this way?" we think. "Why does God allow the evil man and his allies to invade our peace, and our perspective?" is a question that challenges our faith. There is a reason, and it is often found on the other side of darkness when we walk in God's light. But it is important to consider what happens during the darkness times of pruning, when God seems far away, so that we will not despair. For some reason, men do not do well with a life without challenges. We tend to become lazy, self-centered, and vulnerable. Consider, if you will King David, and his tryst with Bathsheba. David was a warrior who wasn't at the battlefront with his men. He was alone with empty time on his hands. He had succeeded in many campaigns, and he was living it up while enjoying his R&R away from his men and the challenges of the battlefield. You would think he would know better. David had seen God bless just about everything he did, and He gave him the freedom to have many wives to comfort him in his loneliness. And yet we read that David seduced the wife of one of his Mighty Men, and that he ultimately had this man killed to cover-up his sinful act with the man's wife. With this act, David broke his relationship with a man who was loyal to him, with a woman who was enamored and vulnerable to him, and with his God Who loved him. But before we cast any stones at David, remember, it is in our times of success that we are most vulnerable. Even though we might think it could never happen to us, it can happen in an instant. An impetuous decision, made by David in the heat of lust, created a problem for himself and many other people. That is how quick it can happen. If David had been on the battlefield, or at least kept his guard up when he faced the temptation to watch Bathsheba bathe, this fall may never had happened for him. But it did, and he learned a very sorrowful lesson from it. So, what can we learn from it? I have discovered that it is often in times of the darkness of evil or pruning that I must seek God in His word more earnestly. Since my feelings are very emotional and vulnerable, and I can be up and down like a roller coaster, I need the stability of God's word to help me avoid some bad decision-making or perspectives. Look what King Solomon said: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) It is this seeking of God's wisdom, and in our need for His intercession, that the threat of darkness works to our advantage, for it forces us closer to God's word and to God Himself. It is then in this unhindered close proximity to Christ that we are made spiritually strong and given the courage to stand with Christ, and against evil. Although we would all desire to be able to leave the battlefield and enjoy our successes, the truth is, not many of us can handle this freedom from the challenges very long. We could find ourselves in a similar situation as David, and like him, make some disastrous decisions. God loves us far too much to allow this vulnerability in our life, and this is why our challenges are needed. Men, though it is an act of faith to do so, start praising God during your times of darkness. He will get you through the frightening time, and when you begin to walk in His light again, you will be surprised how much you have discovered about Him, about yourself, and how you will serve Him better. Jesus gives us insight with how this works by his words in Matthew 10:27: "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs." It is in the darkness that He is whispering in our ear, where we hear Him best. It is these words that we hear in darkness that will be declared in the light and the rooftop of our life. It is our witness to our world that God is faithful, even in the darkness, and darkness never hides us from His sight. Rocky CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THIS DEVOTIONAL