Scripture
The one who walks in dark places with no light, let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
~Isaiah 50:10, REB
Quote
When we are in darkness, the temptation is to create our own light instead of trusting in the LORD to show us the way.
~Stephen Merritt
Preachers of old talk about the “Dark Night of the Soul.” It is a time of severe testing for the man of God. It is a time when everything is questioned; even your salvation and call are in doubt. I am convinced that most preachers go through this dark night of the soul but few are honest enough to confess it. The temptation is to kindle our own fire, to create our own light rather than waiting patiently for God to give light. What we fail to understand is–God has a purpose for the darkness. Some even refer to it as the “discipline of darkness.” By working frantically to create our own light, we do two things.
First we frustrate or hinder God’s purpose. Premature deliverance could hinder the work of sanctification. I heard a story about a man who saw a butterfly struggling within the cocoon, the tiny brown sack that is usually attacked to a tree branch. He took a pin knife and made and opening to keep the butterfly from struggling so hard but it resulted in the death of the butterfly. For a butterfly to survive, it has to fly and the wings are made strong by the prolonged struggle it takes to get out of the cocoon. When the man slit the cocoon, the butterfly fell helplessly to the ground and died. You don’t pry open a rosebud; if you do, you will spoil the rose.
But there is another result that we must mention: when we create our own light, we are acting in pride and rebellion. Basically, we are saying to the LORD, “I don’t need Your help. I can do this without You.” I had rather sit in the dark with God’s presence and blessing than to walk in the light without His divine guidance. Man is very gifted when it comes to creating fire. A lot of what we see and hear in churches is man-made-fire. It is smoke and mirrors. I long for the real deal. Genuine REVIVAL can not be worked up. Gifted people know how to draw a crowd and to excite the crowd they draw but that is not REVIVAL. You can move the hands of a clock to suit yourself, but you do not change the time. True REVIVAL is like a wild fire, it cannot be contained–it burns out of control. It is a mysterious moving of God’s SPIRIT, the Ruach ha Kodesh {Spirit of Holiness}. When this fire falls, it consumes everything that is not like Jesus. As it did with Elijah at Mount Carmel, “It will burn up all the bull.” I am telling you, there is a lot of bull in the church. The Ruach will consume the pretense and fake worship.
The rain is here and the cold front on the way. We could be in for three frost in a row. I guess this is dogwood winter. Still rejoicing over the great turnouts at the Point and DBC for the fellowships last Sunday night. Holly estimated DBC to have been 100 plus and we had at least 100 at the Point. June and I are still laughing about one man who just dropped in an ate: no one knew him. I was thrilled with out turnout and the way people ate. I think it is a good sign.
Make sure you read this months IMPRIMIS; it is on masking and the politicalization of the health department and higher education. You can get to it on line. Read it and be enlightened.
Vellene Tanner is in the hospital with gall stones and Pruitt Livingstone passed away early this morning I think.