FINDING A WAY THROUGH THE DARK - Sometimes the lights go out in life and we feel left alone in the dark with our pain. God wants nothing more than to be close to us in our pain. He is sitting right beside us as we weep, He is our listening ear as we vent our frustrations, He is our steady anchor of truth in a sea of confusion, He is faithful, He is good, He is kind, and He will always make a way. There isn’t anywhere we can go to escape His loving light. Keep asking Him to help you live with the pain, keep putting one foot in front of the other even when you cannot see where you are going. He is preparing a way and strengthening you along the way. You are not alone. You are loved. Keep going. If you are in the wilderness, God is right with you, right beside you. He will never, ever leave you. Turn upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. - It’s easy to lose our way when our eyes can’t see. The same can be true about our wilderness seasons in life. Those times when we feel like we are aimlessly wandering around in the dark, and the divine presence of light feels far out of reach. As we wander, we wonder, where is He? We all face seasons in our life and our faith journey where the distance between Heaven and earth, Him and us, feels endless. The reality of our humanity is that none of us are exempt from the pain and brokenness of this place. We all walk through tragedies and trials, seasons of life where God seems more like a distant elusive entity, rather than a close loving Friend.

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Finding a Way Through the Dark

If you are in the wilderness, God is right with you, right beside you. He will never, ever leave you. Turn upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face.

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Sometimes the lights go out in life and we feel left alone in the dark with our pain. God wants nothing more than to be close to us in our pain. He is sitting right beside us as we weep, He is our listening ear as we vent our frustrations, He is our steady anchor of truth in a sea of confusion, He is faithful, He is good, He is kind, and He will always make a way. There isn’t anywhere we can go to escape His loving light. Keep asking Him to help you live with the pain, keep putting one foot in front of the other even when you cannot see where you are going. He is preparing a way and strengthening you along the way. You are not alone. You are loved. Keep going. 

Kayla Stoecklein

 

“How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” — Psalm 13:1-2

 

Have you ever tried to walk around your house in the dark?

With arms stretched out wide we feel our way around, running into dressers, patting walls with our hands, feeling for the familiar to find our way.

It’s hard to see where we’re going without the light.

It’s painful to run into things we didn’t know were there, it can be uncomfortable to not know where our next step may lead.

It’s easy to lose our way when our eyes can’t see.

I wonder if the same can be true about our wilderness seasons in life.

Those times when we feel like we are aimlessly wandering around in the dark, and the divine presence of light feels far out of reach.

As we wander, we wonder, where is He?

Why isn’t He showing up for me here?

Why did He allow this to happen?

What now?

We all face seasons in our life and our faith journey where the distance between Heaven and earth, Him and us, feels endless.

Sometimes like David in the Psalms we cry out:

“How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” — Psalm 13:1-2

The reality of our humanity is that none of us are exempt from the pain and brokenness of this place.

We all walk through tragedies and trials, seasons of life where God seems more like a distant elusive entity, rather than a close loving Friend.

Maybe like me, you planned out your life, but it didn’t pan out the way you wanted it to.

Maybe the dream you had in mind never became a reality.

Maybe there was a relapse instead of remission.

Maybe there was divorce instead of reconciliation.

Maybe you were healthy but then illness came out of nowhere are you are waiting for healing.

Maybe you want to start a family, and though you’ve been trying for years, your arms are still empty.

Maybe you deeply desire to be married, and though you’ve gone on date after date, you are still single.

Maybe you were enjoying a stable, smooth life, but now you’re sitting in a season of depression that is dark, ugly, terrifying, and debilitating.

And maybe for the first time ever, you are wrestling with suicidal thoughts that you never thought you would have.

Truth is, sometimes the lights go out in life and we feel left alone in the dark with our pain.

So how do we find our way back to the light?

How do we take the next step forward when we our eyes can’t see?

How do we live with the pain?

Friend, I don’t have all of the answers, but what I’ve discovered through my own season of deep pain and grief is that the light is always there, we just have to searching for glimmers of it.

God wants nothing more than to be close to us in our pain.

He is sitting right beside us as we weep, He is our listening ear as we vent our frustrations, He is our steady anchor of truth in a sea of confusion, He is faithful, He is good, He is kind, and He will always make a way.

There isn’t anywhere we can go to escape His loving light.

One of my favorite passages from the Psalms illustrates this so well:

“Lord, You know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and You understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord…. You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness You follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past…. Where could I go from Your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from Your face?… Wherever I go, Your hand will guide me; Your strength will empower me. It’s impossible to disappear from You or to ask the darkness to hide me, for Your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night.” — Psalm 139:1-11 TPT

Friend, He is “bringing light into your night.”

Keep holding on.

Keep asking Him to help you live with the pain, keep putting one foot in front of the other even when you cannot see where you are going.

He is preparing a way and strengthening you along the way.

You are not alone. You are loved. Keep going.

In it together,

Kayla

Your Turn

These are dark times. Are you in the dark?

If so, you are not alone.

If you are in the wilderness, God is right with you, right beside you. He will never, ever leave you.

Turn upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face.

Come share your thoughts on holding on with us on our blog. We are in it together and we want to hear from you. ~ Devotionals Daily

Written for Devotionals Daily by Kayla Stoecklein, author of Fear Gone Wild.

Kayla Stoecklein is an advocate for those confronting mental illness. When she isn’t busy raising her three young boys, you can find her on the beach, sipping an iced coffee and searching for little glimpses of Heaven on earth.

https://www.faithgateway.com/finding-a-way-through-the-dark/#.X77WUHAzbZ4

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Trusting God in the Shadows

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Find Your Way Out of the Valley

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Running Away

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Staying Tough in Tough Times

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Trusting God in the Storms of Life

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Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season

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OUR FIRST CHOICE - God should be the first place we turn to when we are facing struggles or problems - we need not wait until our circumstances look bleak and we are desperate. God’s help should be our first choice, not a last resort. Trying to control our own lives without God’s help leads to struggle and confusion. When we stay in close contact with God, we are less likely to create painful situations for ourselves. When life leads us into places of discomfort and struggle, God wants us to come to Him first, seeking His strength and guidance. For a length of twenty years the Israelites had been oppressed by the Canaanites ruler and his people. Yet not until Jabin, the king of Canaan, and Sisera, the commander of the army, prepared to slaughter the Israelites with an army of chariots did the Israelites cry out to the Lord for help. Why had these people lived in unbearable circumstances for so long without turning to God? Only when they knew they had no chance of survival against such a powerful force, did they finally turn to God. Why not before? God should be the first place we turn to when we are facing struggles or problems. Unlike the Israelites, we need not wait until our circumstances look bleak and we are desperate. God’s help should be our first choice, not a last resort. The Israelites chose to go their own way and got into a mess. Yet we often do the same, don’t we? Trying to control our own lives without God’s help leads to struggle and confusion.

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Our First Choice

When life leads us into places of discomfort and struggle, God wants us to come to Him first, seeking His strength and guidance

.

God should be the first place we turn to when we are facing struggles or problems - we need not wait until our circumstances look bleak and we are desperate. God’s help should be our first choice, not a last resort. Trying to control our own lives without God’s help leads to struggle and confusion. When we stay in close contact with God, we are less likely to create painful situations for ourselves. 

listenandprosper.com

 

‘Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.’ - Judges 4:3 (NIV).

 

For a length of twenty years the Israelites had been oppressed by the Canaanites ruler and his people.

Yet not until Jabin, the king of Canaan, and Sisera, the commander of the army, prepared to slaughter the Israelites with an army of chariots did the Israelites cry out to the Lord for help.

Why had these people lived in unbearable circumstances for so long without turning to God?

Only when they knew they had no chance of survival against such a powerful force, did they finally turn to God. Why not before?

God should be the first place we turn to when we are facing struggles or problems.

Unlike the Israelites, we need not wait until our circumstances look bleak and we are desperate.

God’s help should be our first choice, not a last resort.

The Israelites chose to go their own way and got into a mess. Yet we often do the same, don’t we?

God would have delivered His people earlier on, but ‘they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.’ (verse 1).

They refused to repent and turn to Him for help.

Trying to control our own lives without God’s help leads to struggle and confusion.

However, when we stay in close contact with God, we are less likely to create painful situations for ourselves.

This is a lesson the Israelites never fully learned.

When life leads us into places of discomfort and struggle, God wants us to come to Him first, seeking His strength and guidance.

Prayer:

‘Heavenly Father, forgive me for looking elsewhere for the help and comfort that I am searching for just now.

Thank you that you wait for me to return to you. Keep me close to you Lord and help me in this time of need.’

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

AMEN!

Final Thoughts:

God never left the Israelites, though they often wandered far from His presence.

God promises to stay close to us (Psalm 94:14).

But how often do our hearts stray from Him?

Rather than forsaking our first love (Revelation 2:4), let’s return to our Father and make Him our first choice whenever difficulties arise.

To what or whom do we turn to when we encounter hardship or painful situations?

Nothing or no one else can provide the comfort and help like God. Can we allow God to be all that He is in our lives at this time?

Let’s lay our situation and His feet and trust Him to do more than we could imagine or hope for.

Return to Him and He will turn to us.

Be Greatly Blessed!

https://listenandprosper.com/our-first-choice/

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Have You Ever Wondered?

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Masada

Masada shall not fall again

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YOU MUST STUMBLE BEFORE YOU DANCE - You might be in pain and confusion - it’s so challenging in that place to believe that a good plan is unfolding. It’s so faith-stretching to open our eyes to see God more clearly. You must stumble in confusion before you dance with joy - you will tremble in agony as you live in a sinful, self-prioritizing world. You will learn to wait in emptiness and frustrated desire for G0d’s plan of love to reveal itself. With confidence and hope you will not only feel the pain of living in the valley but also see God’s glory from the mountaintop of faith. “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.” God says: Never ignore your struggle with how I do things. Ask every question that rises in your heart as you live in this world. But prepare yourself to struggle even more with My response. You must stumble in confusion before you dance with joy. Know this: those who live by faith will struggle in ways that those who live to make their lives work will never know. It is that struggle, to believe despite desperate pain and confusion that a good plan is unfolding, that will open your eyes to see Me more clearly. Is that what you want? Will you pay the price? The price is this: you will tremble in agony as you live in a sinful, self-prioritizing world. You will learn to wait in emptiness and frustrated desire for My plan of love to reveal itself.

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You Must Stumble Before You Dance

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You might be in pain and confusion - it’s so challenging in that place to believe that a good plan is unfolding. It’s so faith-stretching to open our eyes to see God more clearly. 

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You must stumble in confusion before you dance with joy - you will tremble in agony as you live in a sinful, self-prioritizing world. You will learn to wait in emptiness and frustrated desire for God’s plan of love to reveal itself.

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With confidence and hope you will not only feel the pain of living in the valley but also see God’s glory from the mountaintop of faith.

Larry Crabb

 

Editor’s Note: What if we viewed the Bible as God’s great love letter to His people? What would happen if we looked at His story, His Book, in a different way and saw His love more clearly and developed and even closer love relationship with Him? We hope you enjoy this devotional from God’s Love Letter to You by Larry Crabb.

 

“I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.” — Habakkuk 2:1 NKJV

 

God says: Never ignore your struggle with how I do things. Ask every question that rises in your heart as you live in this world. But prepare yourself to struggle even more with My response.

You must stumble in confusion before you dance with joy.

Know this: ‘those who live by faith will struggle in ways that those who live to make their lives work will never know.

`It is that struggle, to believe despite desperate pain and confusion that a good plan is unfolding, that will open your eyes to see Me more clearly.

`Is that what you want? Will you pay the price?’

The price is this: you will tremble in agony as you live in a sinful, self-prioritizing world.

You will learn to wait in emptiness and frustrated desire for My plan of love to reveal itself.

With confidence in Me and hope in My plan, you will not only feel the pain of living in the valley but also see My glory from the mountaintop of faith. 

Only those who struggle in confusion and wait in hope will be strengthened to struggle well and to wait with confidence.

Struggle well!

Wait in hope!

Take a Moment to Reflect

Identify what your normal way of thinking is in response to unexplainable circumstances and hardships.

Do you plow ahead and try not to think much?

Do you try to fix it?

Do you try to find a Scripture passage to make sense of it?

What would it look like for you to embrace before God the struggle and all that you think and feel?

Based on the reading, what do you think it means to struggle well?

What might have to change in your thinking?

Pain in life often tempts us to believe we have done something wrong that, if corrected, would eliminate the pain.

How might you think differently about suffering, given today’s thoughts?

Take a Moment to Pray

Father God, I am not sure how to answer this question: “Am I willing to pay the price?”

I want my answer to be yes, but I am scared.

Strengthen my heart to believe something good is happening when pain and confusion overwhelm me.

I want to learn to struggle well.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Your Turn

Today, you might be in pain and confusion.

It’s so challenging in that place to believe that a good plan is unfolding.

It’s so faith-stretching to open our eyes to see God more clearly.

Are we willing to pay the price to know Him deeper and trust Him more?

Come share your thoughts with us on our blog.

We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily

Excerpted with permission from God’s Love Letters to You by Larry Crabb, copyright Larry Crabb.

Dr. Larry Crabb is a well-known psychologist, seminar speaker, Bible teacher, author, and founder/director of NewWay Ministries. He is also Scholar in Residence at Colorado Christian University, Professor for Richmont University in Georgia, and serves as Spiritual Director for the American Association of Christian Counselors.

https://www.faithgateway.com/habakkuk-must-stumble-dance/#.X7vJGXAzbZ4