Darkness and Light

There will always be valley experiences and it's having faith that He is still leading the way that acts like radar to get us through and achieve the purpose God has for us

biblejournal.net

Recently Richard wrote a blog about God being the God of the mountains and of the valleys. The Lord really encouraged and challenged me through these words, and also through the words of the accompanying song. But the question is, do I really believe that the Lord is Lord of both the mountains and the valleys? The answer to this question should be a simple yes, but in reality, I find that when things are going okay accepting God is in control is obvious and easy. But when the path starts to darken and head downwards, when things start becoming out of control and challenging, when my own feelings start to plumet; what then?

Actually, what happens then solely depends on whether I let the Lord into those feelings or circumstances, or try to keep Him out and try to weather the storm on my own.  The Lord has taken many patient years teaching me that He is Lord over every situation and emotion so why not just entrust Him with the solution, but I still try to push through on my own. These last couple of weeks have been no exception, but by eventually sharing with the Lord my emotions and fears, He gifted me with the following:

Psalm 139:12 (NASB) Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.  Darkness and light are alike to You. Sometimes we fear dark times because they are uncomfortable and unsettling and our sense of stability can often vanish in a moment, leaving feelings of loss and confusion. But the Lord says quite clearly in the words of the psalm that Darkness and Light are the same to Him. There is no difference to Him and He is not phased by darkness and therefore neither should we be. There will always be valley experiences and it's having faith that He is still leading the way that acts like radar to get us through and achieve the purpose God has for us.

scriptures.saviorconnect.com

This week I again read the account of the crucifixion and resurrection, in Matthew’s gospel. In the face of the certainty of death and the darkness of the tomb Jesus says to his disciples “But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there” Matthew 26:32 (NLT) Jesus was walking by faith, He knew He was going to suffer a crucifixion, He didn’t want to go through, and even though He asked the Father if there was any other way; He submitted His will to God`s will.  Jesus was well aware that the darkness of death, the tomb and separation awaited Him, however He kept His eyes so firmly on the truth that He would be raised again, He gave the disciples instructions to meet Him in Galilee. Because He knew that darkness and light are the same to God, and God fulfils His purpose in both. Jesus submitted to death and the dark of the tomb because He knew the light of the resurrection power of God would not be consumed by any amount of darkness.  It’s the same for us, we can trust in and submit our dark times our dark thoughts to the Lord because to Him they are not dark, not impenetrable, in fact God uses them to create or resurrect truths, trust and faith that cannot be achieved any other way. 

The second gift was revealed in Matthew’s gospel again. Jesus had been caught up with the Sadducees in an argument about the resurrection of the dead.  And after they had asked a very involved question Jesus simple replied “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures and you don’t know the power of God” Matthew 22:29 (NLT) All through the pandemic the Lord has been drawing me into the scriptures, their truth, and their effectiveness under the direction of the Holy Spirit. And yet at moments of panic they can all flee from my mind. I really felt the Lord say to me, my problem is I don’t “know” the scriptures; plain and simple! I just don’t know them. So, it is my job to every day read what the Lord directs me to read and ask for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to `know` the scriptures. In this way I will build up an arsenal of God's word to be my shield of faith with which to extinguish the fiery darts of the enemies’ accusations etc. But the revelation this week was that for God to be the God of the mountains and the valleys, I had to both know the scriptures and to also acknowledge the Power of God that is revealed and released through them.  Sometimes we only read the word, and it is beneficial, but the true life of God is lived in and through us when we also know the power of the Lord in our lives and in our situations, feelings, emotions because of the word of God. When we wield the Word of God into our situation it can only be truly effective if we acknowledge it is backed by the whole power of God!  What a tool, what a weapon. Because when we realise that God's word is the evidence of God's power then whether we are on the mountain or in the valley, whether we are in light or darkness, nothing can overcome us!!

Jesus said “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the World” John 16:33

I am going to post the song from Richard`s blog again because I think it's powerful and has blessed me:

“On the mountains I will bow my life to the one who set me there,
In the valley, I will lift my eyes to the one who sees me there.
I`ve watched my dreams get broken, in you I hope again
No matter what I know, I know I`m safe in your hands.
Father you give and take away, every joy and every pain,
Through it all you will remain, over it all!"

May God bless you today in knowing his word and the Power of God. Darkness and light are the same to Him.

Author: Jan Pearson

May God bless and enrich your life

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