He Is With You In The Dark Times

September 8

"But I will sing of your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning,
for you have been my defense
and refuge in the day of my trouble.
To you, O my Strength, I will sing praises,

for God is my defense, my God of mercy."
Psalm 59:16-17

I think back to the times of greatest growth in my life, and those were consistently the darkest times of my life. Those are the times when we experience the Lord in ways more deeply and more personally than at any other times in life. In those times we LEARN that he truly IS our strength and our defense.

It's wonderful to be on the glorious mountain tops, but our experience of God is greater in the dark valleys. There we learn who he really is and there his love for us is most personally revealed. Those things cannot be learned any other way.

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while,
if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
that the genuineness of your faith,
being much more precious than gold that perishes,
THOUGH IT IS TESTED BY FIRE,
may be found to praise, honor, and glory
at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
whom having not seen, you love."
1 Peter 1:6-8

In our trials we learn that God is faithful, personal, that his wisdom is infinite, we learn the depth of his care for us. There is a great blessing to come, if only we'll hang on and trust him.

"Hang on, my child. Joy comes in the morning."
Psalm 30:5