You know it's one thing to trust God in the light it's another thing to trust God in the dark
it's one thing to trust God when you think you've got it figured out and you're getting what you
want and you can understand what's going on it's another thing entirely to not get what you asked
for to have no understanding at all of why or what is happening and still be able to say God I trust
you that's the kind of faith we're after and you know what that's the kind of faith that the world
needs to see we can all trust him in the green pastures that's easy we can trust him beside the
still waters I'm asking you to trust him even in the dark valleys he hasn't left you you may feel
alone forgotten life hasn't turned out the way you wanted but God is still leading you the dark
places are all a part of the plan to make you into who you were created to be it may not be easy you
may not understand it but faith is trusting God when life doesn't make sense dare to believe that
he's blessing you even in the dark places that what's meant for your harm he's going to use to
your advantage when you and I are walking through dark times the first thing to remember is this
God is with us even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death the dark times
he says I will fear no evil for what thou what are with me it is the fact and the assurance that
God is with us that makes all the difference he says I will never leave you nor forsake you it is
easier for us to believe in the presence of God or sense the presence of God in life when
when things are going our way it's sort of easy to believe yes I do believe God's with me but what
about when the light's taken away and everything looks dark and gloomy and I don't see any light
at the end of the tunnel out there anywhere then can I still believe that my God who promised to
be with me who will never forsake me am I willing to believe that he's with me now when I don't feel
his presence I don't see his presence and somehow I can't conceive that he could allow me to go to
this do I still believe he's with me yes yes he is God is with me no matter what friend God is always
ahead of us he's got everything under control he's working everything in his absolute perfect timing
he has a purpose for every single solitary thing it seems to you like God's forgotten all about you
well he hasn't he hears you and he sees you can I tell you today that you're not invisible God
knows exactly where you're at and he knows exactly what's going on in your life and he knows exactly
how much you can take and how much you can't take and he may not be early but he won't be late
we're always walking toward the dawn of a new day when you and I walk into the
darkness we're always walking till the dawn of a new day because my friend God loves us
he's always he's always moving us toward the dawn and no matter where you are and what you're going
through today there is light listen there is a dawn there is going to be a new day
God's going to bring you through it no matter what it may be tough right now you think God
how am I going to be able to stand this he's going to enable you he will enable us and
sometimes it's a day at a time and somebody may say well how do you stand this one day at a time
we learn more in the darkness but we're always moving toward the light
you see that's why you not ever have to give up if God has said here's what I'm going to do
you can rest your eternal life on the fact that God in all of his sovereign power everything in
heaven is behind the promise of God he will make it a living reality no matter what he will do
what he promised to do and you know what that means that no matter what's going on how much
darkness we walk through there's always light always light out there somewhere God will bring
us through all of that I don't know where you are in your walk with the Lord I don't know what
kind of darkness is covering you maybe financial darkness relational darkness family darkness all
kinds of darkness that we all have to deal with in life I don't know what it is but this much I know
if you're a child of God he's with you in it he has a purpose he's only going to allow you
in that darkness to accomplish his purpose when it's accomplished he'll bring you out of
it if you will listen carefully and act wisely you'll learn things in the darkness you're not
going to learn the other way there is a light there is a dawn there is a new day you come
you can come out of it and you will come out of it and not only that when you come out you should
come out praising him thanking him declaring to others the greatness of God the dependability
of God the faithfulness of God the love of God to provide for you so abundantly I can tell you I've
learned 10 times more about the grace of God in dark times than I ever did in times of prosperity
and here's what he's saying to you he says I am your God not because you put on a happy
face in the morning I am your God not because you say everything right not
because you do everything right I'm your God because I'm a God of grace
do you know how liberating that is not only are dark times the
best places to learn about the grace of God they're also the best places
to become a person of greatness it'll turn you into a person of endurance
of stability of strength of greatness all of us at some time will go through dark places
a loss a sickness a divorce a child that broke your heart it's easy to get discouraged give up on
your dreams and just settle there but God uses the dark places they are all a part of his divine plan
think of it like a seed a seed cannot germinate in the light as long as the seed stays up on a shelf
it will never become what it was created to be you have to plant the seed in the soil in the
dark place so that what's on the inside will come to life in the same way there are seeds in you
dreams goals talent potential that will only come to life in a dark place if you study the scripture
every person that did something significant went through one of these dark places in those
dark places is where we really grow that's where our character is developed we learn to trust to
persevere our spiritual muscles are getting stronger in the dark places you pray more
you draw closer to God you get quiet and listen to what he's saying in those dark places you
re-evaluate your priorities you spend time with your family you have a new appreciation
for what God has given you you don't give up because your God is not going to give up on you
he's not going to give up on you no matter what but here's the thing that makes it difficult
when you're going through one of those dark moments and you don't see any end in sight
and it looks like it's going to last the rest of your life it looks like you're going to be
penalized the rest of your life it looks like you're never going to be able to reach those goals
somehow it's just it just seems to be so hopeless it's never hopeless as long as you have God
because God loves you and he's going to work out his will in your life one way or
the other if you'll just trust him God will do in your life things that you never dream
if you just trust him through those dark moments