Assured

Joy is returning. I had to fight for it. Anything worthy requires persistence. February through July were like a sunset slowly becoming sunrise. A life chapter closed and for a while night set in. Part way through, dawn began drawing me back, awakening me. And this past week has found me saying to myself ‘Life is good. It’s different now, but God You are ever faithful.’

When a traumatic or dramatic life change occurs, we retreat, regroup, and emerge once more. That’s what happens if we fight for it. But here’s the deal, we can’t fight our way back on our own. Only if we know Jesus do we have a fighting chance. He never left me – and looking back I can see that, in essence, He gently sheltered me, then began to push me, and in so many amazing ways helped me find my smile again.

Where are you today? In pain – physically or emotionally? Deep in grief over the loss of a child/spouse/friend? Rejected and feeling unworthy? Fulfilling the heartbreaking role of caretaker? The night is never too dark for Jesus and restoration is possible. “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from You. To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You.” (Psalm 139:11-12 NLT)

Essentially that’s what we do, right? We ask the night to blind us to our new reality. Yet as much as we try to hide in the shadows, our Pursuer never loses sight of us. How long we stay in the darkness, that is a choice we make. A couple years back I spent a year in severe pain and depression, I thought things would never change for the better. When my husband first passed away and in the ensuing months, I thought it would be years before I could function normally again.

We may say, ‘A loving God would never allow this.’ Or ask, ‘Where were You God?’ Mostly we tearfully and/or fearfully repeat: ‘Why?’ Did I get answers to these questions? No, I got something better than answers. I got assurance.

Assurance that though this life will always be an up and down roller coaster of good and evil, sad and happy, fear and strength – this life is not all there is, eternity is coming. We have this hope as an anchor for our weary soul, but we are living in the now of this new, unwanted place we find ourselves. God is ever ready to speak His hope to us, when we are ready to hear it.  

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NLT) Let’s look at some key words in this verse: pray, hope, fill, trust, power.

All those words require action. But whose acting on them? Praying, that’s us. Hope, that’s Jesus. Filling, that’s God. Trust, that’s us. Power, that’s the Holy Spirit. So, you and I pray and trust. God does the rest. And here’s our assurance: someday, no more dark nights – only the Light of forever and ever.

(Disclaimer: does this mean we will never worry, weep, fear, doubt, etc.? We’re humans living in an imperfect world, of course we will experience these things. God will move us through those, not eliminate them, but move us back into the Light of His truth.) Rest…assured.