Treasures of darkness

 I don’t know if you have ever wondered where God is in your painful experiences. If He is a good God then why all the heartache, trials and troubles? If He’s good then surely he will keep us who love him from evil, from going into dark seasons of our lives. This question pops up for me often but what I have found to be true is that He doesn’t keep us from experiencing hard things, but will most definitely be with us and be our help and guide while we are enduring hard things. 

My willingness or unwillingness to surrender to his way, his will, does not change his goodness. This truth helps me live with unchanging confidence and hope. It is a constant that God is good and can be trusted. We live in a world where good and evil are known. This was not God’s intention. We know evil because God in his love gave us a free will to choose. He still does. In scripture he says, I set before you life and death, choose life. This knowledge we have of evil, this experience of darkness came as a result of going our own way, believing that God was holding back his goodness when he said, “do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for from its fruit you will die.” Death has been at work in the universe ever since. Not believing God is good has been a problem since Adam and Eve. Like God was holding out on not giving us something or giving us everything according to our knowledge. Not realizing that he always has had our best interest at heart. Only through his wisdom, power and authority can He judge rightly. We are just simply not qualified to judge the things that only God can know. So God.. in his mercy gave us all over to disobedience so that by the first man (Adam) all will die but by the second man (Jesus Christ) all who believe will live. He provided life through death, death of his Son, so that evil… death… darkness does not have the final say. So what do I choose.. 

“And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1588/rom.12.2.AMP

Choose life. The Lord showed me recently that it is not knowledge that will help me be obedient to his Spirit, but rather it is an act of my will. So, here I am at another fork in the road. What helps me when I make a million excuses in my head to not follow his lead? It comes by renewing my mind to what his will is. His path for me is always peace. It is always securely grounded in his love for me and it is always to pour his love out on the people around me. So when I have an opportunity to do so, do it quickly, urgently, without hesitation. I have to make my mind up and set my will to do what his will is. The only way I know to walk forward in this is to keep his Words close in my mind and heart and be willing, not with knowledge but with action. I also need to keep in mind that this action is at the heart of my desires. Who am I desiring to please? Realizing also, this is a journey of faith and I am given grace to walk with God on this journey. So if I’m finding that I’m stumbling more than I’m walking, it’s okay. This is where identity in Christ is vital.  Knowing who I am in him and my relationship of abiding in him, talking with him is not based on my doing right or my performance but based on being his child. Chosen, loved, accepted not because of what I have done but all because of what Christ has done. This always leaves me with hands lifted high, my heart and face turned towards him and reverently in awe of who He is. With this truth, I am free to be me, the me he created to be. No condemnation, just human, moving forward and growing. 

This is what is said in Isaiah 45:3. I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you will know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 

Treasures of darkness. I can reflect back to some of my darkest moments and realize that without them I wouldn’t have grown in maturity or character. (Romans 5:3-5) Spiritual maturity happens in these dark places where your very soul, in the secret place, gets connected with the Lord your God who created you and calls you by your name. Notice how he doesn’t  call you by your failings, your mistakes, hang ups or lack. No, He calls you by your name and says in this darkness, “ Let me show you where your help comes from. Let me show you what real love looks like. When you call out to me, I will listen to you. I will hear your voice and I will answer you. These are the treasures, these are riches stored in secret places. Treasures that only you and God can share because of the depth of your cries. The honest, gut wrenching cries of darkness. Your Father hears them. He knows the secret treasures that he wants to share with you in this darkness. So for me, the darkness was never really meant to harm me but was only meant to draw me closer to the One who was longing to speak with me. Longing for me to know his heart as he knew mine. The secret treasure found in darkness is the knowledge of his presence and love. When darkness comes, then so does treasure. Let’s not waste these times of trial but rather grow in the grace and knowledge of the One who saves, hears, loves and helps. The One that even darkness is as light to him. Why? Because he forms both, darkness and light.(Isaiah 45-7) So if darkness comes upon you, you need not fear or panic, instead pray. Soak in his Word. You too will find these beautiful treasures of darkness. 

With you and love you,

Tracey Hanko.