What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear! Matthew 10:27 (NLT)
It is my prayer that this devotion will contain a lesson-within-a-lesson for many who read it. The primary lesson is contained in the words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew as He reminds believers that their moments in the dark seasons of life are not to be feared or wasted but treasured.
Fear of darkness is a real thing. In the dark, our next step can lead to a painful fall. In the dark, we can’t see who or what may be lurking, waiting to cause us harm. However, I don’t believe this is the darkness to which Jesus was referring. The most distressing darkness we can experience is when we are overwhelmed with a paralyzing sense of being alone with only a sense of shame, failure, and hopelessness as our companion. The voices of comfort that used to be there are somehow silent and, most importantly, God seems a million miles away.
Funny thing about these moments of darkness—they are the stuff of which life-changing testimonies are built. I can bear witness that, in my life of attempting to follow Jesus, what He has shown me through the desperate moments of life have done more to build my trust in Him than any of the many blessings He has bestowed. Why? He said that He will speak to us words of hope in a moment when we need Him most so that we may share them when the darkness is over. These are not moments to argue with God. In many cases, our own wisdom helped put us in our situation. The “still small voice” heard by Elijah is the same voice we hear when we finally grow weary of hearing our own voice provide selfish solutions when God’s divine purpose is at hand.
The secondary lesson I mentioned earlier was one I learned (again) after being confronted by this text. God will use His word, the same word that I have read dozens of times, to become fresh revelation to my soul that I might be reminded of His ability to speak to me when I least expect it—through the power of His word or a voice in the darkness.
