No matter how oppressive life's circumstances appear, our wonderful Messiah is always right by our side. Even in the darkest night our Good Shepherd's rod and staff are still there to guide and protect us (Psalm 23:4). When the storms of life rage and we can't feel his presence, our Provider still speaks to us of his nearness through his words to us in Scripture where he promises to never leave us or forsake us (Joshua 1:5). The key is to be daily seeking his face through praise and thanksgiving, prayer and Scripture reading.
EVEN IN THE DARKEST NIGHT
Even in the darkest night,
When we can’t sense your presence,
Sigh with longing,
Cry out for the former closeness,
The sweet intimacy we treasured,
You are there.
Even when negative thoughts torment,
And we become desperate,
Plead to see our sin,
So we can repent,
And restore intimacy,
You are there.
Even in the lowest valley,
Facing the shadow of death,
And we are panic stricken,
Tempted to run,
Or lag behind,
You are there.
In every season of life,
The joyous and the sorrowful,
If we but submit,
You are working in us,
Producing depth of relationship,
It’s so reassuring to know,
You are always there!
The end of the Church age and the of the beginning of our Father's eternal kingdom will very soon be here. Scripture details the nasty events that will take place during that time. The only way to successfully go through what is coming is to keep our eyes on the prize which is an eternity with our heavenly Father and also our Messiah and other believers.There will be no more sin or any of its miserable effects there, only light and all the joys of righteousness. When I get discouraged, I read the back of the book.
Having said this, we need to focus on the deep things of light and not the deep things of darkness. All the fear producing events taking place in the world today, true though they may be, only cause man's hearts to fail them for fear. Keeping our eyes on our Messiah brings peace, trust and rest. There is only so much we can do to turn things around in our country and the world. If after praying, you feel called to support a given cause, such as campaigning for a specific candidate, do so. But remember, the final outcome is in our heavenly Father's hands. We are to occupy while on earth, but our focus should never be on world events, but our Messiah.
Even our Savior at times discussed the things of darkness and exposed the enemy and his dirty works, but he focused on the things of light. He said and did only those things he heard his Father saying and doing (light), healing and setting people free, preaching about the Kingdom and it's rules, his every word and action showing us what the Father is like and drawing us to relationship with them. After a most refreshing talk about the deep things of light with a special brother, the thought struck me that we can either focus on the deep things of light or those of darkness. Out of that thought came this poem.
THE DEEP THINGS OF DARKNESS
Created for intimate relationship,
Close family fellowship,
Nothing else satisfies,
Satiates the hunger,
Fills the void,
Even though we relentlessly search,
Sadly,
Way to often,
Deceived by the enemy,
Driven to fill the void,
Puffed up,
We seek wisdom,
But in the wrong places,
Instead of focusing on truth,
The deep things of light,
Desiring to expose evil,
We focus on it,
Whether true or not,
The deep things of darkness,
Don’t focus on relationship,
Make us paranoid,
Fearful and depressed,
Have the enemy’s signature,
The deep things of light,
Focus on relationship,
Bring peace,
Trust and rest,
Have our Savior’s signature!
