Trusting God in the “DARKNESS” (Part 1)

When I was a kid I never liked walking in the dark, especially alone. Something about not knowing what was out there caused my imagination to run wild. Fear would rise inside my chest even though I knew there was nothing “real” to be afraid of but we all know that fear is often not about facts and reality.

One Christmas season my parents wanted to have a dinner party at the house but they didn’t want us kids there. So my parents thought they would send us to the movies and we would be happy with that move. The problem was there were only two movie houses in town and both had the horror movie “The Pit & Pendulum ” showing. My older brother was four years older than I was and he was glad to go. He was told to stick with my sister and I but, as soon as we were dropped off, he left us. My sister, who was two years older than me, got scared really easily. I thought I was pretty brave until the movie started having squeaky doors open and bad things started to show up on the screen. My sister suggested we turn around in our seats during the bad parts but when the sound of the squeaky door started up I just had to look and the rest of the movie was a repeat of that action. After going to bed and everyone was asleep I would swear I saw shadows going up and down the hallway. You see, my parents installed a nightlight that was blue and it created the perfect glow for a little boy’s imagination. I ended up outside my parents bedroom door crying for my mother. When she came out, she was mad for waking her up and told me to go back to bed!

We all find security when things are in the daylight, but when the night comes our fears can get the best of us. In the gospel of John chapter 11 three friends of Jesus needed his help. Because of Jesus’ ministry of healing total strangers and because they felt they had a close relationship with Him they felt he would come to their aid during a crisis. This was no ordinary crisis.  This was life and death.

John 11:1-3                                                                                                                                                                                                     

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany, where Mary and her sister Martha lived. Mary was the woman who later put perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. Mary’s brother was Lazarus, the man who was now sick. So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

These few verses are packed with the quality of their relationship to Jesus. We all believe God loves us based on scriptures like John 3:16.  However, here the apostle John identifies a friendship that was more than God caring for us as a general population. It was a love that went both ways. Mary was the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume that was valued at around a years wages. You don’t spend that kind of money on just average friendship.

So, the two sisters figured their request would be embraced yet we soon learn they had to face a huge disappointment that they had not expected.

John 11:4-6                                                                                                                                                                                             

When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. It is for the glory of God, to bring glory to the Son of God.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

When strangers or casual friends disappoint us or seem to reject us it hurts but the pain is not that deep and is often gone quickly. However, when someone we care deeply for betrays us the wound can go down to our bones and often never heals. These two sisters had to be devastated by Jesus’ treatment. They had to be wrestling in their souls about this apparent rejection. If you have lived long enough on this earth you will have similar experiences when you come to a crossroad in your relationship. A juncture where you don’t know if you’re willing to be crushed by the relationship.  You don’t know if it’s safe or wise to love more than you have.

I think of friendships in my past where I gave my all only to find the person or persons didn’t value my friendship very much. To say it doesn’t hurt would be a lie and to say I was always strong when that happened would also be a fabrication. The pain we feel shows us how much the friendship meant to us. If there is no pain then the value of the friendship was little to nothing. Mary and Martha are a crossroad in their relationship with Jesus. Yes, they loved Him deeply before.  Yes, shared a great deal in both time and affection. But what about right now?

There will be times in our walk with God that we feel genuine love and affection. There are times when God seems to respond to our hopes and dreams with great care even when we have a mandate to seek first his kingdom. But what about those times when we are truly in great need and the need is not about something like a car or house or other natural thing? What happens when our need or pain is about our health or the health of our loved ones? My daughter and wife both have had cancer and my daughter is now fighting cancer for the second time. When those moments in your life happen it’s easy to think about the quality and depth of God’s love for us.  Does God really care or is it just the scriptures that I’m in love with rather than the person of God?

When your world goes dark and the light you once experienced seems nowhere in sight, what will you do? What will I do?  Will we lose our grip on our relationship with Jesus because he hasn’t or won’t rescue us?  I will be tackle these challenging questions in the following articles of this series.

Isaiah 50:10                                                                                                                                                                                          

Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light?  ……Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Questions:

1) Are you walking in some hurtful time regarding a friend? Talk to Jesus because he understands how you feel.

2) Are you feeling like you can’t handle the pain? Talk to your Heavenly Father because he cares for you.

May the depth of our love for God go deeper because of the pain we experience.

Pastor Dale