Still Standing While Wrestling With the Dark

When unexpected trials come into our lives, it is easy to wonder where God is in the midst of the mess. I have sat and prayed for the Lord to change things in my life, but after I was done praying, nothing changed. I knew God could do it, but he didn’t.

Have you been there?

It’s when God seems silent that it feels like the darkness closes in, and we begin to wonder if God hears our prayers.

I am a woman who was raised in church, went to Bible college, and trusted in Jesus nearly all my life, but nothing could have prepared me for the day my husband walked out the door of our nineteen-year marriage. When he walked out, he walked right into a relationship with another woman. My heart was shattered into a million pieces, and I was flooded with emotions like fear, embarrassment, worry, sadness, anger, and more.

I prayed for restoration, and he came back! But then he left again. And then he came back and left again. And this cycle would repeat itself for years.

I prayed for help as a single mom, and at times I wondered how a God I could not see could help me. I mean, I knew that God was with me and that I was never alone, but when the car broke down or the toilet broke, I really wanted a person, in the flesh, to help me.

You see, the enemy—Satan—wants us to feel alone and to stop praying. He wants us to give up. He wants to keep us stuck in his darkness and confusion. He wants us to lose our faith and joy.

Do not believe his lies.

Let me assure you, God hears your prayers.

God is with you, and he loves you. Whatever is burdening you today, take it to the Lord. God is not afraid of the darkness. Invite him in and wrestle out with him your fear and discouragement. And always remember, when you are wrestling with God, the darkness cannot win!

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5 NIV).

This devotional by Baker Publishing is available at Bible.com. (MCN)