Hope, Treasures in the Darkness, Words of Endurance
And I will give you treasures
hidden in the darkness – secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel,
the one who calls you by name.
ISAIAH 45:3
The most precious treasure Dave and I found during our time of darkness was the discovery that God was real and present in our darkness. We were so glad to discover that God’s presence was not dependent upon our feelings of His presence!
The amazing thing about that discovery is that if you had asked me during that time if I felt God’s presence, I would have said, “Absolutely not!” During those terrible dark days I would have told you that God was nowhere to be found – I could not feel His presence in any way, shape or form. And yet, at no other time in my life has He spoken to me more clearly or given me more reason to trust Him because He was and is faithful!
Although we tend to think that suffering will cause us to turn away from God, the truth is it often causes us to realize how very much we need Him. When I became utterly desperate I finally entrusted myself to God. I gave up trying to control my life and circumstances because it became obvious that I could not.
I did not choose that path because I had a great revelation or exercised a great step of faith. I chose it because I was too weak and too exhausted to do anything but cling to the hope that God would hold true to His promises.
And God was faithful. In that darkness my relationship with Him grew to become the ultimate treasure! Now when I face adversity, I have the treasure of knowing – in a way I never knew before – that God is real and that I trust Him completely.
It is important that we pay attention to what we are learning in the darkness because the darkness is where our relationship with Him is tested. The darkness is where we learn and experience the Truth that God will be faithful.
God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great is your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
LAMENTATIONS 3:22-24 (THE MESSAGE)
On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky