Cathy Bailey
Sunday School Teacher
Faith Baptist Church
Wildomar, CA
“Help! I am all alone in this trouble.”
“No one understands me.”
“I don't know what to do.”
“I have never faced anything like this before and I don't know anyone I can talk to about this problem.”
“I feel ashamed.”
“The subject is embarrassing.”
“Where can I go, what can I do?”
Many others have said these things. Many others have faced these sorts of hurts.
I Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Sometimes situations in our lives are just that: things we have never faced before. Sometimes, the trials of life bring us to Total. Complete. Darkness.
Isaiah 45:3, “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”
Isaiah speaks on this topic, Treasures of Darkness… things we find when we are all alone and in a situation that we have never faced before. Blackness surrounds us, we have no clue where to go or how to move forward. We are afraid, alone, and seemingly forgotten by the very people who are supposed to love us and help us!
But God IS there! He is right beside us. Picture the teacher while the students are testing… silently walking around the classroom checking the students’ progress, looking over their shoulders, but saying nothing. No advice, no communication. The teacher hopes that in that moment, the student already knows the answer. It is a test!
God is with you, friend! You are NOT alone! He sees your struggle and He longs for your struggle to teach you to trust HIM. He hopes that this struggle will help you to pay closer attention the next time that you are taught. He longs that your struggle will help you to reach out to someone else who is facing the same trial… look up! Who around you is facing what you are facing? Reach out to them! Call out to God in your trial, but look up during your struggle, realize that you are not alone! There are treasures to be found in your trial. Have patience-- patience to wait, patience to see the purpose, patience to be unafraid in the dark. Reach out! Your escape might be closer than you think! Light a candle in your darkness, find a verse to carry you through, share scripture with a friend, share your burden with someone, or write about it in a journal. God knows right where you are. He has you there to light the way for someone who is coming behind you in a darkness of their own! When you cannot see the way, reach out! Reach for the escape but do not neglect to reach for another person who is stumbling along in their darkness. It may be that the Lord’s plan for your darkness is that you find a fellow traveler along the way and help them to escape.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
There is a purpose in your pain, there is a purpose in all things that God does. Trust Him today. Look up, light a candle…
Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
…and reach out to someone else who struggling. Help someone else to find a victory, and in doing so, you will discover your own, “Treasures in Darkness” and help someone else step into the light!
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