Seeing God In The Dark

Job was a very righteous man, perhaps the most righteous man of his generation as the Lord pointed him out to Satan saying, "Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8).

And yet, his knowledge of God was blurred; things of God's nature were hidden from his sight.  At the end of his ordeal of suffering, he would admit before the Lord, despite his great blessings and his personal devotion to God throughout his life, "My ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you" (42:5).  Job did not truly see God until He was revealed in Job's suffering.

Job discovered that it was God, not his wife or his good friends, that stood by him despite his calamity.  Job found out that God's presence is not withdrawn just because hard times have come.  It was revealed to him that God's nature and his love for us is not challanged by the circumstances of life.  He discovered that God's power is not dependent on man's personal goodness.  He learned that God's power to heal and bless has no limits and there is no place to which man can fall that God cannot recover him.  It was revealed to him that God is truly sovereign and alway right, regardless of how we feel, think or believe.

Perhaps you have experienced the Job effect of coming to see God more clearly in suffering or loss.  Possibly, like Job, your faith experienced a watershed moment during a flood of pain and loss.  So often, in the middle of a tragedy, we feel a peace that cannot be explained.  Sometimes we discover how God's blessings flow in the current of tribulation.  So often, it is in the darkest of times that we become most open to see the light of His presence.  Have you noticed the increase in your prayer life when life's circumstances close around you?

We may grow up hearing about God and his goodness, but it is not until we experience it for ourselves that it becomes real.  The stories we heard from our parents and others we trust make an impression, but the experience of God's help in a time of disaster changes our outlook entirely.  James said, "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds...that you may be mature and complete" (Js 1:2-4).

The next time you face dark times, instead of wailing, "Why me God?", you might ask, "What can I learn from this, how can I grow, where can this take me?"  When life takes you through a valley, God stands ready to bring you to a mountain top.  In the darkest of times, the light of His pesence can shine the brightestt.  Look with eyes of faith and watch the light shine in the darkness.  Jus' Sayn.