The Discipline Of Darkness - Part Two

by Adrian Rogers
Sometimes in life we come to a time of darkness when the lights go out and nothi
ng seems to make sense.
Job was so perplexed, he demanded, “God, you owe me some answers!” Although God
never specifically answered Job’s questions, Job came to learn something critica
lly important: that God alone was enough – even without the answers. A beautiful
song by Scott Wesley Brown and Greg Nelson says,
When answers aren’t enough, there is Jesus.
He is more than just an answer to your prayer.
And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge.
When answers aren’t enough, He is there.
Sometimes God may put us into darkness so we’ll learn that even without the answ
ers, He is enough. We may not be able to say that and mean it until He is all th
at we have.
#3: SOME THINGS ARE SEEN IN THE DARK THAT CANNOT BE SEEN IN THE LIGHT
“And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret pl
aces, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am th
e God of Israel.” Isaiah 45:3
Sometimes the greatest treasures are discovered in the darkness. Darkness is not
always the work of the evil one. It’s also one of God’s ways to teach.
The stars that hang like chandeliers in the velvet canopy of space are only seen
in the darkness. Stars don’t “come out” at night; they’re there all the time. S
ometimes on the darkest night, the stars seem brightest. In the daylight, we may
think the brightest thoughts, but at night we think the deepest thoughts.
#4: IT IS BETTER TO LEAN ON GOD IN DARKNESS THAN TO STAND ALONE IN MAN-MADE LIGH
T
Isaiah 50:11 warns about lighting our own fire. Man-made enlightenment can be d
eceptive. Ron Dunn said, “You cannot look at a sundial with a flashlight and tel
l the correct time.” If we light our own fires and walk in that light, we’ll ul
timately lie down in sorrow.
Abraham kindled his own fire after receiving God’s promise of a son. Tired of wa
iting, he produced Ishmael. Today the children of Abraham are still lying down i
n sorrow because of their conflict with Ishmael.
Moses received God’s promise but took things into his own hands. He became a mur
derer and set God’s work back forty years. Moses knew for forty years what it wa
s to lie down in sorrow.
Simon Peter boasted that he would follow Jesus even to death. Then came dark Get
hsemane. Peter did not understand and tried to light his own fire, cutting off t
he high priest’s servant’s ear. What an embarrassment to the cause of Christ! Pe
terwould lie down in sorrow that terrible night.
In a time of darkness, don’t create you own man-made light
#5: IF YOUR SUN HAS SET, BE SURE MORNING WILL COME
Your dark night will come to an end. God will turn every hurt to a hallelujah, e
very tear into a pearl. Your Calvary will one day be an Easter.
It was a dark night for the disciples when Jesus was nailed to the cross and hun
g there, three hours of it literal darkness. It all seemed so inky black. His ki
ngdom had shrunk to the narrow dimensions of a grave. But then came that gloriou
s morning.
“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full
of compassion, and righteous.” Psalm 112:4
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
Didn’t David say he would walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Rememb
er, the God who leads us in is the God who leads us through. One day Jesus will
pull back the shades of night and pin them with a star. He will open the door of
morning and flood your world with the sunshine of His love. That day will be al
l the more wonderful after the darkness.
“Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the d
arkness and the light are both alike to thee.” Psalm 139:12
God sees through the dark. His eyes are upon you in your darkness.
A little girl’s mother had died. Her first night apart from her mother, she felt
alone in the darkness of her bedroom and left it to sleep with her daddy. They
tried to sleep, but unable to see her father’s face, the little girl said, “Dadd
y, it is so dark. Is your face toward me?”
“Yes, darling, my face is toward you.”
“Daddy, you love me through the dark, don’t you?”
“Yes, sweetheart, Daddy loves you through the dark.” The little girl drifted off
to sleep.
That strong man slipped out of bed, fell on his knees and prayed, “Heavenly Fath
er, it is so dark. Is Your face toward me?”
The answer came from heaven, “Yes, My child, My face is toward you.” “Father, do
You love me through the dark?”
“Yes, My child, I love you through the darkest night.” The father joined his pre
cious daughter in much-needed sleep.
An unknown poet has written :
So I go on, not knowing;
I would not know if I might.
I would rather walk with Christ in the dark
Than to walk alone in the light.