As you walk through these dark times,

I want to remind you

of the Light

that never stops shining,

the Radiance

too brilliant

for us to even perceive,

the Love

beyond

our range of vision,

the Grace

indescribable

with our words …

When we can’t see or feel God’s presence,

our souls

can be resting in His embrace.

As you journey through these dark times,

never forget Who is with you

every step of the way.

If you are going through a “desert” time of intense struggle and feeling abandoned by God, you are not alone – even Jesus Himself went through that level of heartache.

Matthew 27 45-46 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

As hard as it is, we need to cultivate a faith that isn’t controlled by our feelings. Sometimes on the way to our own personal “resurrection” times, we have to go through little “deaths” so to speak. Whether it’s through betrayal, physical health problems or grief, suffering is part of the spiritual journey through we all go through as we seek to fully open our hearts and live the abundant life Christ promised.

Jesus grew up praying the Psalms, which express the full range of human emotion in relationship to God through the ups and downs of life. Yet, somehow we are surprised when we ourselves go through those same intense rights of passage, possibly because our society perpetuates the illusion that we should live a more superficial lifestyle and avoid suffering at all costs.

Ecclesiastes 3 New International Version (NIV) places the ups and downs of spiritual journey into beautiful perspective:

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account.”

Are you in a season of suffering right now? How is your faith holding up through the trial you’re going through? Comment below, and I’ll be happy to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Lord help us to persevere through the seasons of suffering in our own lives, and give us the grace to provide comfort for those, who are walking through their own great heartache. Help us to keep an eternal perspective, grow in faith and trust you through it all. In Jesus name, we pray.

 

Written by Nicky Gant for http://www.uniteinprayer.org 7/24/2019