Stick with me on this message I promise you’ll be blessed!

Darkness… it is something that frightens us… unsettles us… doesn’t make us feel like we are in control…

“So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.” – Isaiah 59:9 NIV

Ever felt like this? Like everything that can go wrong did?!? Where God felt so far away that you’d need a guide and a spaceship to reach Him?

Where you ask for prayer and go up on every altar call only to find yourself in the same predicament once you hit the parking lot?

And now… with this pandemic shut-in and shut out… are hopelessness and helplessness familiar friends?

Since the fall, the expectation is that we would walk in darkness… that our way wouldn’t be so clear, and we’d need to start our own fire or… trust Him:

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” – Psalm 119:105 NLT

He is FOR us… He is WITH us… God is IN us… Wow… He LIVES IN US… IN US! And it is HIS Word that guides our feet AND light the path before us…

Now I want you to take note of this: if you had a candle in your hand the light WOULD BE ENOUGH for you to see your feet and avoid falling or tripping, BUT it wouldn’t be enough for you to chart or alter your course…

You can’t see far enough to try to make a decision like: “Gee… I don’t like the way that tree up ahead looks” or “That hill looks kind of steep so I’m going to avoid it altogether.”

Aahhh… That’s FAITH: Walking IN the Light that His Word illuminates before you… It’s not a spotlight or high beams… No… JUST ENOUGH to see your way through today…

So why isn’t that enough for us… Why do we struggle so much to… BELIEVE… To entrust our lives to the most loving and caring Person in all of creation: Our ABBA… Our Daddy?

Could it be that… we’re not so sure He’ll “show-up”… that everything will turn out OK? Could it be that we fear the darkness… the uncertainty… the unknown… and that they will be too much and overwhelm us?

“How much, Lord?!?! How long before you do SOMETHING??!!!?

I know… Believe me… I know… I’ve been there too… But it is in those times where I have to remind myself of this:

“A bruised (discouraged) reed shall he not break (to burst, breakdown), and the smoking (feeble) flax shall he not quench (cause to extinguish or be put out): he shall bring forth judgment (a favorable verdict) unto truth (stability, certainty).” – Isaiah 42:3 KJV [definition from the Strong’s]

When Jesus hung on the Cross and died that brutal and horrible death… He died in OUR place… The Divine Exchange… So that we might LIVE…

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 KJV

Whose FAITH???? HIS FAITH!!!

It’s no longer about you trying to “work” something up… Trying to draw His attention to your circumstances and pleading with Him to help you… NO…

Help is ALREADY IN YOU… and HE is more than capable:

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh IN us,” – Ephesians 3:30 KJV [emphasis added]

But notice He [Your ABBA] is ABLE to DO far beyond anything you may ASK or even THINK according to what?

The POWER [the dunamis in the Greek] that is at work IN you… That Dunamis is the Holy Spirit and you can either unleash Him or restrain Him…. BY?

Yielding or resisting… Trusting or fearing… Resting or stressing….

“But its sooo HARD!!!” you may say…. I understand completely…

We’ve all been “conditioned” to approach God from the standpoint of serving… pleasing… in essence, trying to “earn” His approval and curry His favor.

So from that standpoint, when things go “dark” we tend to believe that He is displeased… that we “did” something to anger Him or to warrant the “punishment” or “discipline” we are under.

Let me address that head on:

First, let’s talk about His love for us:

Ephesians 2:4-10 King James Version (KJV)

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Jeremiah 31:3 King James Version (KJV)

3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

God (who, by the way, is YOUR Father) is RICH IN MERCY! That word mercy in the Greek means active compassion.

That means He’s not sitting on His throne looking down on you and saying: “aaaahhh they’re really going through a very difficult time down there… I feel so bad… I hope everything turns out ok for them…”

NO!!!! That’s what most people do… Maybe add an “I’ll pray for them” in there somewhere.

BUT NOT YOUR FATHER… He lives IN you:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” – Revelations 3:20 KJV

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (residence) with him.” – John 14:23 KJV [definition from the Strong’s]

Now… Does any of this sound like He’s distant and uncaring????

NO!!!!

He’s right there with you… IN you… FOR you…

It may be dark now BUT the dawn WILL break for you…

“For His anger (not towards you) is but for a moment, His favor (for you as His child) is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5 KJV [emphasis added]

“"For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah would not flood the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor will I rebuke you.” – Isaiah 54:9 KJV

No more anger… no more rejection… His love is FOREVER… His Presence is IN you is FOREVER…

So…

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” – Isaiah 41:10 KJV
God’s Word to you in this present darkness is: FEAR NOT…

There is a light for us in this darkness… It is His word:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105 NKJV [emphasis added]

His word lights where we stand and what’s just in front of us.. No more,,, and certainly: no less…

Or else we wouldn’t need faith if everything was perfectly clear to us… But Faith, indeed, is what we need…

I hope you stuck with it and, more importantly, start to walk IN it…

It will change your life as it has mine…

Be well, Be Blessed, and Be Encouraged…

Love Grace and Peace to You.

Pastor Joaquin