He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light.
Job 12:22

If I had to give a medal to the person in the Bible who experienced utter darkness, I would give the award to Job.    The Bible declares Job a righteous man who was walking in the light.

And, when you have been in the light, being in the dark takes on a whole new meaning. 

When darkness comes, it brings chaos and confusion.

Once you are accustomed to the light, darkness is profoundly absolute.

On the other hand, once you are familiar with the dark, being in the light will be dazzling.

So here we have Job, a man of integrity.  He is a respectable man to his friends and his community.  Along with great integrity, Job was blessed with great wealth.

Yet with all Job’s righteousness, darkness descended upon him.

He lost his livelihood, wealth, children, and the many people he employed.  After his health was affected, his helpmate (his wife) became his hurt-mate by telling him to curse God and die.

He lost the respect of his friends and his status within the community. 

When the dust had finally settled (literally), Job sat among the ashes in intense agony.

His loss was so palpable it caused him to cry out, wishing his birth had ended in darkness and gloom.  He questioned why he wasn’t stillborn.

In Times Of Darkness, Focus On The Light

But through it all, Job knew that God was in control.  Job realized he was being tried through the fire and would emerge as pure gold.  His eyes were on the results.  Once Job came through his sufferings, everything he had lost was restored twofold.  Once restored, Job had a greater revelation about himself, his friends, and his God. 

Darkness is not a place to stay.  To get through it, we must focus on the light.  Philippians 4:8 states, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable dwell on these things.” 

Focusing on the light is not denying the existence of dark, but the glow from the light will be a beacon of hope beckoning us to keep moving.

What Pattern Are You Creating?

Recently, darkness descended upon me like a cloak.  And, while it was in no way comparable to that of Job’s troubles, darkness has a way of obscuring one’s vision so that a crisis seems an insurmountable issue.

Anyway, one moment I was basking in the memories of the great time I had with my family the day before.  The next minute, I received an upsetting phone call; before long, my mind started thinking about other problems I was facing. 

I soon realized what I was doing to myself as I recalled something I had read some time ago that stated the following:

“Your brains work best with patterns, and your brain likes to connect similar thoughts into a story.  When we focus on something negative, our brain searches for more negative things to attach to that first thought to build that story.  The same is true for positive thoughts.”

Immediately, I began to create a new pattern by focusing on the positive things in my life.  I allowed the goodness of God to poke holes into the darkness, thus permitting light to come spilling through. 

Poking Holes Through The Darkness

When darkness descends, we can poke holes through it by not allowing ourselves to suffer in silence and shame.

We poke holes by making connections – Reaching out to others for help and encouragement.

We poke holes by using our circumstances for self-discovery – What we learning about ourselves, about God, and those around us.

We poke holes by accepting that change is necessary – Yep, change is a part of life!

We poke holes by realizing that situations are never as helpless or as hopeless as they appear.

We poke holes by tending to our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. 

When darkness descends, focus on the light to move you forward.

Poking holes through the darkness with,

The Water I Give