The Other Side of Darkness

The Lord caused the sea to go back all that night (Exod. 14:21).

In this verse there is a comforting message showing how God works in the dark. The real work of God for the children of Israel, was not when they awakened and found that they could get over the Red Sea; but it was “all that night.”

So there may be a great working in your life when it all seems dark and you cannot see or trace, but yet God is working. Just as truly did He work “all that night,” as all the next day. The next day simply manifested what God had done during the night. Is there anyone reading these lines who may have gotten to a place where it seems dark?

You believe to see, but you are not seeing. In your life-progress there is not constant victory; the daily, undisturbed communion is not there, and all seems dark.

“The Lord caused the sea to go back all that night.” Do not forget that it was “all that night.” God works all the night, until the light comes. You may not see it, but all that “night” in your life, as you believe God, He works. 

-–C.

***

You may be traveling though and intense storm period in your life. Just as the Israelites were fenced in by the Red Sea and a menacing army, you are fenced in by financial difficulties and bouts of helplessness. You are fenced in by loneliness and uncertainty. You are fenced in by unemployment and the perception of lack. You are fenced in by dwarfed goals and colorless dreams. You are fenced in by shrinking sense of purpose and low self-esteem. I want to insure you that God is present in your struggle. In fact, He is working in the undercurrents of your suffering, He is moving in the depths of the darkness, and He is setting you up for a powerful undertaking in your life. You may not be able to feel it, you may not even be able to sense it, but you are standing in the midst of a move of God.

The darkness is not meant to create despair, but opportunity. You see God shows up in the darkness. God takes hold of the reigns in the darkness. God stabilizes your footing in the darkness. God fortifies your position in the darkness. God brings healing in the darkness. God provides in the darkness. God destroys the shackles of depression in the darkness. My Bible tells me that God dwells in the darkness.

You don’t know it yet, but you have been set up for a victory, the darkness was a strategic move by God to counter flank the enemy. Though the vicissitudes continue to roll in, you are a winner. Though the storm is vehement, there will be peace. Though the pernicious attacks of the enemy are incessant, trouble don’t last always. Stand your ground and trust God at His Word.

Dr. Rick Wallace

God doesn’t stop his work at night. While you are sleeping He is moving. The enemy has painted a portrait of negativity and despair for you, but you must choose to see what is in front of you through the eyes of faith. The Bible says that Abraham did not stagger at the promises of God. I tell you that though it tarries, wait. Delay does not mean denial, wait. Long lonely nights, wait. Friends and family members forsake you, wait. In return for your love they have become your accusers, wait. Friends talking behind your back, wait.

There is a powerful blessing waiting on the other side of your pain; be still and know that He is God. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace 

Standing Alone in the Darkness

16 At my first trial no one acted in my defense [as my advocate] or took my part or [even] stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them!
17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the [Gospel] message might be fully proclaimed... (2 Tim. 4:26-17, AMP).

Have you been there? You know that place in which all your friends have deserted you. Can you say like David, "In return for my love they have been become my accusers. Well, the Apostle Paul knew the feeling. Standing accused, he stood alone. Needing a friend there was no one to being. Have you ever been there? That place where friends are few, a best.

Have you every held out your hand that the one you hoped would pull you out by it, took the opportunity to bite it? Have you been at that place in which the phone rings, but only bears more bad news? Maybe you have hurt so badly that you thought the pain would destroy. Maybe you've cried until your eyes were swollen shut.

God is With You!

Paul told Timothy that though no one stood with him, the Lord stood with him. Not only did the Lord stand with him, but He strengthened him. God is standing in the midst of your mess right now. They have written you off. They have already started spreading the word of your demise. They are already dividing up your belongings, but God is standing with you. He came to bring healing. He came to bring strength. He came to bring elucidation to your vision and power for the struggle. He came to restore that hope that has stepped on by loved ones. He came reconfirm that dream that was stolen through the one that swore they loved you.

He has come bring health where sickness has ravaged your body. He has come to redeem time where the enemy has robbed of years of effectiveness. Listen, I know you are hurting. I Know that you are broken right now. Your spirit is raggedy restless, but God. I tell you God wants you to stop looking at where you are at and start focusing on where you are going.

Restoration Is On The Way

You see, you ought to be dead by all accounts, but God kept you. I can relate to David when he said, "If it had not been for the Lord who was our side, when men rose up against us..." You see the devil tried to take you out, but God stood with you and strengthen you. Yes, you feel alone right now, but God is honoring His promise to never leave nor forsake you. That is alright Baby-girl, he walked out, but God walked in. It's cool Lil Bro. she think she played you , but she pushed you into position for God's favor to rain down upon you.

Dr. Rick Wallace
R3 Co-Founder

To the people in Newtown, CT, their is a searing pain coursing through the inner recesses of your soul, and the anguish of your loss overwhelms you, but God is still God, He hears your cries and he is acquainted with your sorrows. He has not forsaken you though this great tragedy has befallen you. You have found yourself in the darkest of places, a place where the darkness has overshadowed your hope for tomorrow, but I stopped by to tell you that God dwells in the darkness (1 Kings 8:12). He will wipe away every tear. He will stand with you and strengthen you. He will hold you in the middle of the night.

Hold on my friends, each of you, keep believing what seems so hard to believe right now; God is in control. Though it seems that evil is winning, God is in control. He sent me to tell you that He is about to breathe life into those dry bones. He is about to breathe life into those dry bones of despair. He is about to breathe life into those dry bones of lack and poverty. He is about to breathe life into those dry bones of loss and devastation. So, believe. Believe against reason. God is all that you need. He is about to show up and shake up the world on your behalf. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

R3 - Revived, Restored, Reinstated 

The Secrets of God's Providence

 "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him" (Ps. 25:14).

There are secrets of Providence which God's dear children may learn. His dealings with them often seem, to the outward eye, dark and terrible. Faith looks deeper and says, "This is God's secret. You look only on the outside; I can look deeper and see the hidden meaning."

Sometimes diamonds are done up in rough packages, so that their value cannot be seen. When the Tabernacle was built in the wilderness there was nothing rich in its outside appearance. The costly things were all within, and its outward covering of rough badger skin gave no hint of the valuable things which it contained.

God may send you, dear friends, some costly packages. Do not worry if they are done up in rough wrappings. You may be sure there are treasures of love, and kindness, and wisdom hidden within. If we take what He sends, and trust Him for the goodness in it, even in the dark, we shall learn the meaning of the secrets of Providence. --A. B. Simpson

***

You may be in a dark place right now and nothing resembles the promise. You know, that promise that came through a vision from God. At one point, the vision was lucid and vivid, but now the shadows or darkness have distorted the image of that once clear portrait of your future.

Now it seems that all you see is disappointment, desolation, and despair. The vision has more of a resemblance to a nightmare than a dream. Do not lose hope. Do not allow your faith to be thwarted. For God's Word has promised that the consultation and intimacy of the Lord is with those that revere Him. God is using the darkness to create an environment of intimacy with you. He is drawing you closer to Him through the disappointment.

It is this moment of intimacy and consultation that He will strengthen, establish, and reassure you of your purpose and destiny. The darkness is not to be feared. It may not resemble the vision of the dream, but make no mistake about it, it is an extremely important part of the process. The enemy would have you believe that the darkness is an indicator of God's absence, but God dwells in the darkness (1 Kg.8:12, 2 Chronicles 6:1). Through the study of the infallible Word of God, we learn that God dwells in the 'gross darkness":

Ex 20:19-21
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.  20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.  21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness (#6205) where God was.  KJV  

Deut 4:11-12  NKJV  
"Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. (#6205) 12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.  NKJV  

Deut 5:22  22 These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, (#6205) with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.  KJV  

1 Kings 8:12
Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in thick darkness.  (#6205)

Let's look at the primitive root of the Hebrew word translated Darkness:

GROSS DARKNESS

`araphel
OT:6205 `araphel (ar-aw-fel'); probably from OT:6201; gloom (as of a lowering sky):
KJV - (gross, thick) dark (cloud, -ness).

`araph
OT:6201 `araph (aw-raf'); a primitive root; to droop; hence, to drip:
KJV - drop (down).

God is present, even in the gross darkness. Do not be dismayed by the darkness, although it doesn't resemble the original image of your vision is carries within it the very providence of that vision. God is working in your darkness to facilitate your dream. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Treasures in the Darkness

 "Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was" (Exod. 20:21).

God has still His hidden secrets, hidden from the wise and prudent. Do not fear them; be content to accept things that you cannot understand; wait patiently. Presently He will reveal to you the treasures of darkness, the riches of the glory of the mystery. Mystery is only the veil of God's face.

Do not be afraid to enter the cloud that is settling down on your life. God is in it. The other side is radiant with His glory. "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings." When you seem loneliest and most forsaken, God is nigh. He is in the dark cloud. Plunge into the blackness of its darkness without flinching; under the shrouding curtain of His pavilion you will find God awaiting you.  --Selected

***

"Hast thou a cloud?
Something that is dark and full of dread;
A messenger of tempest overhead?
A something that is darkening the sky;
A something growing darker bye and bye;
A something that thou fear'st will burst at last;
A cloud that doth a deep, long shadow cast,
God cometh in that cloud.

Hast thou a cloud?
It is Jehovah's triumph car: in this
He rideth to thee, o'er the wide abyss.
It is the robe in which He wraps His form;
For He doth gird Him with the flashing storm.
It is the veil in which He hides the light
Of His fair face, too dazzling for thy sight.
God cometh in that cloud.

Hast thou a cloud?
A trial that is terrible to thee?
A black temptation threatening to see?
A loss of some dear one long thine own?
A mist, a veiling, bringing the unknown?
A mystery that unsubstantial seems:
A cloud between thee and the sun's bright beams?
God cometh in that cloud.

Hast thou a cloud?
A sickness--weak old age--distress and death?
These clouds will scatter at thy last faint breath.
Fear not the clouds that hover o'er thy barque,
Making the harbour's entrance dire and dark;
The cloud of death, though misty, chill and cold,
Will yet grow radiant with a fringe of gold.
GOD cometh in that cloud."

***

As Dr. C. stood on a high peak of the Rocky Mountains watching a storm raging below him, an eagle came up through the clouds, and soared away towards the sun and the water upon him glistened in the sunlight like diamonds. Had it not been for the storm he might have remained in the valley. The sorrows of life cause us to rise towards God.

***

I will tell you that though the waves may toss you about, they are needed. When you find yourself in the midst of a vehement and inexorable storm, it is quite necessary. When you sense that you are hard pressed on every side, you are in a profitable place. It is the adverse affects of life that draw the greatest value out of the Christian believer. The phosphorescent light of a Christian shines brightest amidst the fierce winds of adversity.

Not until you have encountered the incessant vicissitudes of life can you rise to new heights. Unless the storm comes there can be no winds to push you to the pinnacle of your destiny. You will only find the power to perpetuate your purpose by enduring the darkness that settles over your life. Do not fear the darkness for the darkness holds something precious. The Bible tells us that God dwells in the darkness, and where God is there is peace and there is power.

Though this moment in your life is quite painful, it is necessary. There is power in pain. Pain develops character when it is engaged with the hope of transformation and elevation. When you are able to engage the storms of life understanding that God works all things together for the good of those that love Him, you will be able to speak as the Apostle Paul; "For I consider that the current sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18)." ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Engaging the Darkness

Night of Pure Faith

"Lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him" (Gen. 15:12).

The sun at last went down, and the swift, eastern night cast its heavy veil over the scene. Worn out with the mental conflict, the watchings, and the exertions of the day, Abraham fell into a deep sleep, and in that sleep is soul was oppressed with a dense and dreadful darkness, such as almost stifled him, and lay like a nightmare upon his heart. Do you understand something of the horror of that darkness? When some terrible sorrow which seems so hard to reconcile with perfect love, crushes down upon the soul, wringing from it all its peaceful rest in the pitifulness of God, and launching it on a sea unlit by a ray of hope; when unkindness, and cruelty maltreat the trusting heart, till it begins to doubt whether there be a God overhead who can see and still permit--these know something of the "horror of great darkness." It is thus that human life is made up; rightness and gloom; shadow and sun; long tracks of cloud, succeeded by brilliant glints of light, and amid all Divine justice is working out its own schemes, affecting others equally with the individual soul which seems the subject of special discipline. O ye who are filled with the horror of great darkness because of God's dealings with mankind, learn to trust that infallible wisdom, which is co-assessor with immutable justice; and know that He who passed through the horror of the darkness of Calvary, with the cry of forsakenness, is ready to bear you company through the valley of the shadow of death till you see the sun shining upon its further side. Let us, by our Forerunner, send forward our anchor, Hope, within the veil that parts us from the unseen; where it will grapple in ground and will not yield, but hold until the day dawns, and we follow it into the haven guaranteed to us by God's immutable counsel. --F. B. Meyer

The disciples thought that that angry sea separated them from Jesus. Nay, some of them thought worse than that; they thought that the trouble that had come upon them was a sign that Jesus had forgotten all about them, and did not care for them. Oh, dear friend, that is when troubles have a sting, when the devil whispers, "God has forgotten you; God has forsaken you"; when your unbelieving heart cries as Gideon cried, "If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?" The evil has come upon you to bring the Lord nearer to you. The evil has not come upon you to separate you from Jesus, but to make you cling to Him more faithfully, more tenaciously, more simply.  --F. S. Webster, M.A.

Never should we so abandon ourselves to God as when He seems to have abandoned us. Let us enjoy light and consolation when it is His pleasure to give it to us, but let us not attach ourselves to His gifts, but to Himself; and when He plunges us into the night of pure faith, let us still press on through the agonizing darkness. Oh, for faith that brings the triumph When defeat seems strangely near! Oh, for faith that brings the triumph Into victory's ringing cheer-- Faith triumphant; knowing not defeat or fear. --Herbert Booth

How often are we compelled to circumvent the darkness? How frequently do we look for  the path by which the brightness of the sun illuminates every step. Far too often, the Christian believer assumes that there is no profitability in the darkness. There is an assumption made that the darkness has come to rob us of what is precious with the Lord. As with all that God allows into our lives, the darkness has great purpose in the development of faith and trust in the Lord. You see, the darkness requires faith, its demands it. The darkness empties self, and demands that we believe if we are to overcome. The darkness shakes us free of independence and sets ablaze a hope that can only be satisfied by a supernaturally radical God. This darkness sets ablaze the hearts yearning to be in the midst of a special movement by God.

The Bible assures us that God dwells in the Darkness. When the darkness settles over your life and it seems that you are facing it alone, remember that God is there and is waiting on you to call out to Him in the midst of the storm as Peter did. He is compassionately stretching out His hand to pull you through. The darkness in not an indicator that God has forgotten, it is often God’s way of drawing us near. There is nothing like the darkness to incline us to prayer and supplication. There is no greater force than the darkness to intensify our yearnings to experience God’s presence and power. The darkness has of way focusing our vision and recentering our hope.

Oh, when the darkness settles overhead and the ability to see what lies before us is withdrawn, how passionate is our cry to the father to sense His protection. When “the valley of the shadow of death” is our residence, how inexorable are our cries to God to move on our behalf. When the vicissitudes of life roll in and life makes no sense, how implacable are our strivings to have God make sense of our mess. No, the darkness does not mean separation, but represents the opportunity for intimate fellowship with our creator.

The enemy has promulgated a lie that says darkness equals God’s absence; however, the infallible Word of God assures me that my God dwells in the darkness. He is still powerful in the darkness, He still hears in the darkness. He still answers prayer in the darkness. He still works miracles in the darkness. He still executes the impossible in the darkness, and at the right moment He will transform your dark moment into a phosphorescent light that shines bright for all to see. You will get the victory and He will get the glory.

I encourage you to engage the darkness that befalls you with a confidence that believes God is standing with you. He has promised to go with you, to fight for you, to protect you, to elevate you, to heal you, to restore you. Spend your time in darkness seeking the only one that is capable of of bringing light and while the darkness still lingers, know that something special is being wrought out in the darkness. God is moving in the darkness setting the stage for your coronation. Breakthroughs are built in the empty corners of darkness. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace