When In The Dark

Isaiah 54:15 (NKJV):

¹⁵ Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

This is the verse that Holy Spirit reminded me of when I got in the car after work to go home yesterday. As I was unlocking my car, I saw the notice on the side window stating that if I parked at that lot one more time, my car would be towed. So much for a free parking…. This was just another fiery dart that was assembled against me yesterday that I tried to fight off but couldn`t find strength. This is why Holy Spirit was so faithful to remind me of these words: “<sup>15</sup> Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.” The part that He didn`t mention was the second part of the verse: “Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.” When I read it today, I was once again convicted by the Holy Spirit how I tend to be faithless while He remains faithful!

To give you an idea, the parking at my work place is very expensive, and I don`t have that kind of extra money each month while scrambling to pay all my bills right now, so to lose the opportunity to park for free, meant that I would have to think of a way to rearrange my budget in order to pay this extra expense. In addition to that, I was stuck in a horrible traffic on a way to work yesterday that was caused by the death of the pedestrian, which I found out later. To top the rest of my day, I had to be notified of the upcoming layoffs that are going to take place within the next couple of weeks. This took me down, and I collapsed fast. This is when the words of the Lord that He whispered to my ear were so crucial: “Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.” It wasn`t my God who was putting me through these obstacles, but it was Satan trying to get to me the best way he knew how.

To testify of God`s faithfulness for these situations that took place yesterday, I can say that God was faithful to provide for me a way out. First of all, despite the horrible traffic, I still managed to get to work on time, and that was a true miracle considering that I sat in traffic for two and a half hours. My God provided for me to park in my building for free for the next two weeks maybe even for a full month if the deductions for parking would not be set up on time, which is something that the representative hinted to me would happen. Not only that, but my parking fees were arranged to be pre-taxed meaning that none of the payments would decrease my actual take home pay. This is the part when God showed me that: “Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.”

It`s important to note that the Bible nowhere says that we would not have obstacles or tribulations because we would so long as we live in this fallen world that`s operated by Satan. He would be restless until he manages to get to at least one of God`s children. However, it`s important to note what God promised in so many different scriptures that although we would have all these tribulations and will have enemies assemble against us, He would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies.

Remember what Paul said to Ephesians 6:12-13 (NKJV):

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,^[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

We must remember that we do not wrestle against the flesh and blood but against the principalities and the rulers of the darkness. In other words, our battle is spiritual, and this is why I was reminded yet again by the Holy Spirit to keep up my shield of faith to withstand these fiery darts that are being shot at me on a regular basis.

It`s important that we realize that we will face battles, but we have to be properly dressed in the armor of God to conquer these battles. In Psalm 91 David wrote:

91 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler^[a] And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

This is truly one of my favorite Psalms because God so explicitly tells us that He will deliver us and protect us although all these fiery darts would be shot at us when the enemy would attempt to destroy. As a matter of fact, this is the Psalm that Satan tried to misquote when tempting Jesus in the wilderness during His 40 day fasting (Matthew 4:1-11).

This scripture provides us with the necessary information of God`s promise to protect us and to provide for us, so when Satan would come to tell me the opposite, I remind him of these verses.

It`s important to keep the shield of faith when going through some of the worst dark moments in your life. Faith is what would keep us on the right course to maintain our trust in the Lord despite of the circumstances telling us the opposite. I was bombarded from all different directions yesterday, and I have to admit that I collapsed because I am just exhausted from this spiritual battle. My plea with the Lord is really to give me a break, so I could gulp some “fresh” air and plunge right back into the battle. God was faithful to strengthen me through the today`s devotional.

As I opened today`s devotional by Oswald Chambers, he said the following fact:

Sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and God puts us into “the shadow of His hand” until we learn to hear Him (Isaiah 49:2). “Whatever I tell you in the dark. . .”— pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. Are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? If so, then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood— darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light.

This really made my heart stop. I am in the darkness, so God could speak to me and teach me to listen to His voice. Woe to me if I try to speak when I am in the mood that I`ve been yesterday because I caught myself murmuring against the Lord instead of trusting Him.

The refinement process takes time, and God knows what would make us grow spiritually. I started to humble myself before the Lord yesterday and confessed that I choose to trust Him despite the facts that I face. Today, when I saw the answer from the Lord that counteracted the fiery darts of the wicked one, I praised Him with my whole heart. God proved Himself once again faithful when I was faithless.

If you feel like you are in the dark today, I encourage you to listen to what the Lord would tell you. Don`t counsel with people, but come to the Lord; people would only lead you astray. The purpose of the darkness is to make us dependable upon the Lord; our hope is solely in Him. This is indeed the time to be still and quiet while God tries to direct you.

Learning obedience and discipline is a lengthy process. Refinement is a lengthy process, but when you`ll see that precious message that God would entrust you to share with the others and touch one`s heart, you`ll be overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness. You`ll see that all the fiery darts assembled against you would be turned into praise and glory for the Lord. All the frustration of the past pain would be forgotten when you`ll see the fruits of your endurance brining light in someone`s life. For me, this is the time to be quiet and pray, so God could speak to me and direct me as He`s been doing all this time.