Streams in the Desert - Dec 22
by L. B. E. Cowman and Jim Reimann
A thick and dreadful darkness came over him. (Genesis 15: 12)
In this Scripture passage, the sun had finally gone down, and the eastern night had swiftly cast its heavy veil over the entire scene. Worn out by the mental conflict, and the exertion and the cares of the day, Abraham “fell into a deep sleep” (v. 12). During his sleep, his soul was oppressed with “a thick and dreadful darkness,” which seemed to smother him and felt like a nightmare in his heart.
Do you have an understanding of the horror of that kind of darkness? Have you ever experienced a terrible sorrow that seems difficult to reconcile with God’s perfect love— a sorrow that comes crashing down upon you, wrings from your soul its peaceful rest in the grace of God, and casts it into a sea of darkness that is unlit by even one ray of hope? Have you experienced a sorrow caused by unkindness, when others cruelly mistreat your trusting heart, and you even begin to wonder if there is really a God above who sees what is happening yet continues to allow it? If you know this kind of sorrow, then you know something of this “thick and dreadful darkness.”
Human life is made of brightness and gloom, shadows and sunshine, and dark clouds followed by brilliant rays of light. Yet through it all, God’s divine justice is accomplishing His plan, affecting and disciplining each individual soul.
Dear friend, if you are filled with fear of the “thick and dreadful darkness” because of God’s dealings with humankind, learn to trust His infallible wisdom, for it is equal to His unchanging justice. And know that He who endured the “dreadful darkness” of Calvary and the feeling of having been forsaken on the cross is ready to accompany you “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23: 4) until you can see the sun shining on the other side.
May we realize that “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” and that “it enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain” (Heb. 6: 19). And may we know that although it is unseen within His sanctuary, our anchor will be grounded and will never yield. It will hold firm until the day He returns, and then we too will follow it into the safe haven guaranteed to us in God’s unchangeable Word.
~F. B. Meyer
The disciples thought that the angry sea separated them from Jesus. In fact, some of them thought something even worse— they thought that the trouble they were facing was a sign that He had forgotten them and did not care about them.
O dear friend, that is when your troubles can cause the most harm. The Devil comes and whispers to you, “God has forgotten you” or “God has forsaken you,” and your unbelieving heart cries out, as Gideon once did, “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?” (Judg. 6: 13). God has allowed the difficulty to come upon you, in order to bring you closer to Himself. It has come not to separate you from Jesus but to cause you to cling to Him more faithfully, more firmly, and more simply.
~F. S. Webster
We should abandon ourselves to God more fully at those times when He seems to have abandoned us. Let us enjoy His light and comfort when it is His pleasure to give it to us, but may we not attach ourselves to His gifts. May we instead attach ourselves to Him, and when He plunges us into the night, where pure faith is required, may we still press on through the agonizing darkness.
Oh, for faith that brings the triumph
When defeat seems very near!
Oh, for faith that brings the triumph
Into victory’s ringing cheer—
Faith triumphant; knowing not defeat or fear.
~Herbert Booth
Reference
Cowman, L. B. E.; Reimann, Jim (2008-09-09). Streams in the Desert: 366 Daily Devotional Readings (p. 475). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Categories: spiritual