–Elmer Kelton  (The Way of the Coyote)

       “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

                    –Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
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Last night was a dark night, not because the waning moon is just starting, but because of the evil that was represented.  John tells us that, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:5-6, NKJV)  If you’ve ever watched horror movies, of which I do not, but I know that much of the action takes place at night–in the darkness.
     There is a terror of night, make no mistake about it.  Objects do not look the same as they did in the daylight.  They seem to take on a sinister form at times.  Evil lurks and loves the night, the darkness.  True, it is becoming more and more prevalent in the day, but it is still the nighttime that feeds it.  The majority of shootings take place at night, as well as other types of crimes.  But Christian, take heart, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night…” (Psalm 91:5, NKJV)  That is a promise mixed with a command.  Because He is light, we can rest and have peace in the darkest night.
     However, there is another type of darkness.  It is the darkness of the soul.  Think of Joseph, escaping death, but thrown in the pit to eventually be sold as a slave by his brothers.  Darkness, distress…  Moses, the shining prince of Egypt, flees to the wilderness and for forty years his soul is in turmoil.  The soul is in darkness, but then–upon the side of a mountain a bush that is burning but not consumed–the light of God.  Read the accounts of Jeremiah, how he faced the darkness.
     St. John of the Cross wrote that, “God leads into the dark night those He desires to purify from all imperfections so that He may bring them farther onward.”  We, mankind, and believers as well, often spend too much time on the things of the flesh rather than mortifying the flesh.  When this takes place God often will send darkness.  A time, hopefully, of reflection, a time to get our eyes back on the light.  Thomas Merton said this, “When the time comes to enter the darkness in which we are naked and helpless and alone; in which we see the insufficiency of our greatest strength and the hollowness of our strongest virtues; in which we have nothing of our own to rely on, and nothing in our nature to support us, and nothing in the world to guide us or give us light–then we find out whether or not we live by faith.”
     Faith–without it we cannot please God.  He wants people of faith, but sometimes He must send the darkness to purify our faith.  No matter how many and great our virtues we cannot purify ourselves.  No matter the hours put in serving God, it is not enough to bring purification.  God sends the darkness to bring us out into greater light.  This is a time of trouble for the soul.  Peter in the dark of the night denied the Lord.  Think of the anguish in his soul.  Judas, the Betrayer, was in darkness, his soul embittered by his deed.  Two men facing the darkness of their soul; two different choices were made.
     In the darkness we either sleep or we continue walking.  The believer does not leave the path to glory simply because it is night.  Depression, despair, distress may come but we continue onward to our destination.  The darkness is there, but it is only a hindrance.  We must walk more carefully; other senses must be heightened.  Prayer, meditation, reading of the Word, practical application of the Word, just as in life must be adhered to in the darkness.  We hold tighter to His hand, we follow more closely to His guidance.  Because of that fellowship grows, relationship deepens, trust is solidified, and we continue on by faith.  Not faith in ourselves, not faith even that we are going to make it, but faith in the One who is there beside us even if we do not feel His presence.

                    –Louis L’Amour  (Bendigo Shafter)

       “The God of heaven will help us succeed.  We his servants will start rebuilding this wall.  But you have no stake or claim in Jerusalem.”

                    –Nehemiah 2:20(NLT)
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Do you think your world is falling apart?  Are there questions to which you can find no answers?   Are things happening around you that never happened before?  That’s what this next portion of Psalm 105 is about.  The world falling apart, moving away from what is natural.  If you have had a tendency to forget about God, go back and read the following verses and imagine yourself in ancient Egypt.

          23 — Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
          24 — He increased His people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies.
          25 — He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal craftily with His servants.
          26 — He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen.
          27 — They performed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
          28 — He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they did not rebel against His word.
          29 — He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
          30 — Their land abounded with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.
          31 — He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and lice in all their territory.
          32 — He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.
          33 — He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, and splintered the trees of their territory.
          34 — He spoke, and the locusts came, young locusts without number,
          35 — And ate up all the vegetation in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
          36 — He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength.  (NKJV)

     Think first of the men mentioned.  God sent Israel (Jacob) into Egypt, yet earlier He had sent Joseph to prepare the way.  Joseph was there when Jacob arrived to prepare for Israel’s well-being.  He has also anticipated your needs, your issues, your circumstance and has a plan to rescue you.  Then He sent Moses and Aaron, oh, and remember, Moses was an eighty year old fugitive at this time.  They did not volunteer for the task, but were chosen by God.  Maybe in the midst of your trials you should look for the task that God is calling you to accomplish.
     For years God’s people had waited to be delivered.  Most of them had lost hope, had forgotten the power of their God, and were no longer waiting for the coming deliverer.  Imagine their surprise when the miracles began to take place.  When they began to see God work through the two men He had assigned.  Are you waiting for the hand of the Lord to move or have you forgotten Him?  Can you remember His miracles in the past, if not read this account again.  “He’ll do it again…you may not know how, you may not know when, but He’ll do it again.” (Dawn Thomas)  Helmut Thielecke stated, “God is stronger than fire and destruction, and even in the valleys of deepest darkness, rod and staff are put into our hands and bridges are thrown across the abyss.”  God has given you what you need for the hour, for the situation and circumstance, for the battle.
     
               “God the Omnipotent King who ordainest
               Thunder thy clarion, the lightning thy sword;
               Show forth thy pity on high, where thou reignest;
               Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.”
                       –Henry F. Chorley