My family and I have recently moved into a new home. We purchased the home in February with excitement in our hearts and in anticipation of all the fun memories that will be had. Little did we know that the next few months would include many challenges that come with purchasing a new home. We were placed in positions where things were out of our control and we had no choice but to either panic or increase our faith. If I’m being honest, we did both.
We were at a point where our own wisdom, knowledge, understanding and strength were no match for what came our way. Hope had dissipated from us and life seemed dark. It was prayer that kept us going and the truth of God’s words. We had to take a step back many times and consider what was happening. In the moment, it may be hard to see where God is in situations that are difficult but when we consider the season we are in of Increasing our Faith, it may shine some light into what we are going through.
You may have heard this many times but you do not need faith when everything goes according to plan. You need faith when it is out of your hands. In fact, certainty may be the true opposite of faith as it can be a deterrent of faith. Unless of course, the certainty is in God and what He can do.
In my time with the Lord, God had revealed to me that things had to get dark so that he could shine His light into our situations. Light shines brighter in the dark, period. We don’t necessarily need to turn the lights on in our home when the sun is shining through the windows during the day. But at night time, when it gets dark and we can’t see each other or what we are doing, light becomes essential and necessary.
The scriptures tell us that the Lord will be our light. He will be the light on our path and that darkness cannot overcome the light that is Jesus Christ.
Micah 7:8 (NIV) “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
Psalm 119:105 (NIV) “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
John 1:5 (NIV)”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”
Donna mentioned it in her last message at LifeSpring, “where there is great light, there is great darkness.” The world may look like it is getting darker and darker as time goes on but that may also mean that God’s light may shine brighter and brighter for all to see.
Jesus’ life is a great example of this. The contrast between light and darkness can be captured in His death and resurrection. Jesus walked through darkness all the way to the point of death so that when it was time for his resurrection. His life and light would shine bright and the world would know that in spite of what the enemy tried to do to Him, He is truly the Son of God.
There’s an old Starfield song called “Something to Say” that my spirit prompts me to sing when I’m feeling down and hopeless. The bridge goes something like this “And faith might mean there won’t be answers. And hope might mean enduring through the night. But help me not forget in the darkness. The things that I believed in the light.”
My prayer is that as we continue our journey in the season of Increasing our Faith, may we be reminded that it is in the midst of darkness that God’s light shines the brightest. It is when we are at the end of our rope that God offers us His yoke. It is when we are faced with the impossible and turn to Him that we can find faith and hope for tomorrow. Lord Jesus, shine your light in us and through us. In your mighty name Jesus, we pray, Amen!