When Darkness Surrounds

Megan and I during one of our many evenings without electricity.

It has been quite a first few weeks here in Madagascar! It is amazing to me how the Lord speaks. He always knows what to say when you need to hear it. This whole drought thing is for the birds. Let me tell you how blessed you are in America to have a constant stream of running water coming from every faucet (and sometimes places you don’t want) in your house. You probably also have constant electricity, unless you didn’t pay your bill on time.

Sometimes God uses these reminders to show me His faithfulness. There have been quite a few evenings where we have been without electricity for whatever reason, and it is DARK. Its not the kind of dark where you can still see a little…it is can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face DARK. I was in the kitchen finishing up dishes late one night, and the power went out. I knew Megan was down the hall…with a flashlight. So, here I am, standing in the kitchen, hands dripping wet yelling “Megan? Can you please help me??” Of course here she comes with her flashlight asking if I fell…to which I just said, “no! I just can’t see!”

Now, I know Pastors use the “light in the darkness” illustrations all the time, but we can really take those illustrations for granted. Scripture is our light in the darkness. When it gets really dark, so dark we can’t see anything around us, the one thing we can see is the Word and our faith.

I’ve been reading in 1 Thessalonians lately and have just been blown away by how Paul regards their faith. The church at Thessaloniki had very hard times. The entire book talks about how they had faith despite their trials. There are times in our lives where trials surround us. We don’t know which way is up or which way to go….we are yelling in the dark “please help me!” God is always gently leading us in the way we should go. We don’t need to worry, he has our back. Always.

So, next time you find yourself in the dark, just ask Him to guide you. He will always fulfill his promises. He may not give you water when you want it, but He will give you water when you need it. And let me be the first to tell you, water when you need it is ALWAYS more refreshing.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

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