The Darkness that Purifies
(April 19, 2026)
I grew up in the country and unless there was a full moon, when I turned out the light in
my bedroom, it was dark!! I mean you could not see a gorilla sitting on your nose. You
could feel him for sure, but you could not see him.
There was a time in my life when I experienced that kind of darkness spiritually,
mentally, and emotionally. It’s called depression. Maybe you have been there. Maybe
you’re there now. In Psalms 88, the Ezrahite, Heman, wrote in verse 18 of the LORD,
“You have taken from me friend and neighbor – darkness is my closest friend.”
Isaiah 50:10 says, “Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His
Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the
LORD and rely upon his God.” Have you ever considered that the darkness you are
experiencing is from the LORD? Not to terrify you, but to purify you?
Job cried out to the LORD for answers but to no avail. He looked to his friends for
comfort but there was none. In fact, he got the opposite from them. But the LORD
brought him to the place where he declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!”
(Job 13:15). And maybe that is the purpose of the dark times. For the soul that has
experienced darkness gains a purity that those who only have easy times will never
know.
Scottish minister John MacDuff said in his book, The Promised Land, “When you can’t
trace God’s hand, trust His heart.” And maybe that is the point of the darkness – trust.
You see, God wants a relationship with us. Serving God without a loving relationship
with Him is only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal in His ears! He loves you and me so
much He sacrificed His only Son so He wouldn’t have to live without us. Oh! may God
forgive me for the busyness I substitute for intimacy with my heavenly Father and the
Lord Jesus!
My friend, if you are in the dark right now, just wait and listen. Your God IS near you
though you cannot feel Him. Trust your Savior for Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you.” Know that in His love, He is removing the dross from your life so you may
experience Him more deeply than you have ever known. “Weeping may last for the
night, but joy comes in the morning.” And dear saint, loved of God, the morning WILL
come!