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CHRISTIAN LIVING TODAY
One of my favorite Biblical phrases is: “That they/you may know that I am God.”
Isaiah 45:3 uses this phrase, and the context of the verse is interesting as well. Through Isaiah the prophet, God says: “I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.”
Look closely to discover what God wants you to know — that it is Him, that God Himself calls us by our name.
Now that’s very specific and pretty awesome. Don’t you agree?
God says that He uses the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places. So, how would we recognize these secret places?
Dark times often include confusion, isolation or maybe depression. Such experiences are obscure, lonely, singular and miserable.
It could be a season of death and loss, destruction or sorrow. Grief would be a component of this dark time, and many people find it difficult to see God then, or to even recognize His presence.
Yet, even His presence is a hidden treasure. God has a storehouse full of resources to soothe our fractured heart. He has riches there, stashed away like a generous neighbor who shares their wealth of stored up goods.
Consider weapons in an armory, stored there until an occasion arises when such is needed. This is similar to the resources God has for us, in our dark times and needs.
And there is a reason He does this: So that you/I will recognize that God is the I-Am, the Lord, and realize how He calls me by name.
He is personal in our dark time.
Biblical personalities discovered this too. Daniel 2:22, says that God “reveals (the deep things/mysteries) and is part of Daniel’s prayer.
A very favorite verse of mine is Psalm 139:12: “… even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, and the night is as bright as day; darkness and light are the same to You.”
God is the same in the dark as in the light. He is not hindered by dark, He sees well … unlike some of us with difficulty driving at night.
So, when life seems dark, seek Him. He is the light. There is no fear there, nor lack of compassion or comfort.
Choose light with me. Until next week, Anita
Onarecker, an Elgin resident, author of “Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge” and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.
