When we find ourselves in a place of darkness, in the mine shaft and in the pit surrounded by the rubble of broken dreams and when despair and depression surround us, it is a time to look for treasure. One treasure, a diamond discovered in the depths of pain and sorrow is hope. Hope is the expectant trust that God, His Word and His promises are true. Faith is knowing that what you say you believe is real.
Your faith is incredibly valuable to God. The season of waiting and obedience and patience lived by faith touches the heart of God. Living by faith, waiting by faith is an act of worship, devotion and intimacy. It is through faith that we find the fulfillment of the promises of God and learn to walk into the destiny and purpose of God for our lives. Abraham learned to live by faith. “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” (Romans 4:16–17, NIV84) Abraham’s life teaches us that if we are ever to find the fulfillment of our God destiny and dreams, it will only come through faith.
The demonstration of faith is choosing to believe God even when there is nothing left in the natural to believe in. It is the knowing and the express trust that when God spoke, He did not lie and even if everything else passes away, God’s Word and His promise and His call still stand. “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:18–21, NIV84)
In the pit, surrounded by your shattered dreams and your own personal lack of ability to accomplish anything, is the perfect place to find the diamond and the gold of faith and hope. Can you still believe in the dream God gave to you even as you realize that it is broken and lying in pieces at the bottom if the mine shaft? Can you still trust that you heard God call even as you paid the price of losing everything for the sake of the call and now realize in the pit, that you do not have the ability or strength to accomplish the call? That is the place where faith and hope are born.
Abraham was in the pit and despite realizing that he could do nothing to fulfill God’s call on his life, he did not stop knowing that he had heard God speak. That is the simplicity of faith. Did God say? That is the test of the pit. Did God really say??? The Amplified Bible says, “No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God” (Rom 4:21). Even at the loss of the dream and the realization of his weakness, Abraham did not question what God said. The realization that only God was able to fulfill God’s Word gave strength to Abraham’s faith. In the pit of despair and depression, we come to a place where we realize, that there is nothing left but God and God is enough. That is the faith that gave Abraham strength.
When nothing else is left for us to do, we are left in the pit trusting in God alone. That is the season to worship and praise God. “But was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,” (Romans 4:20, NIV84) I believe that the worship was a declaring of the might and power of God even in the midst of Abraham’s greatest weakness and failure. His worship expressed his confidence that God was true, even when nothing looked like God was in it. “Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.” (Romans 4:21, AMP) We too can declare that God is able. In fact, it is not until we discover that there is nothing we can do, that we can fully declare that God alone is able.
Paul understood this test of Abraham. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3–5, NIV84) The word suffering speaks of pressure, crushing and pain. When we learn to persevere in our pursuit of God even as we are surrounded by pain and loss, we grow. That perseverance is not only waiting and enduring, but it is also a cleaving to God. It is drawing closer to God in the midst of the trouble. As we cleave to God in the midst of pain and loss, something amazing happens. The word character actually speaks of experience. Our cleaving to God is actually a marking in the Greek that we are “tested in battle,” “reliable,” “trustworthy”. Our perseverance does not develop character as we understand it, but reveals the character of God in us and brands as genuine, tested and valuable. It is the means of testing used before a promotion.
As we persevere, we discover in ourselves as everything else is stripped away, if we really hope in God. Do we still believe that God spoke and do we expectantly trust that God will fulfill in us that which He spoke to us. That is the simplicity of hope. That is also the treasure of the mine. When we have nothing left but God and still choose to believe God, we become transformed into powerful overcomers. We know that nothing, no power from hell can stand against the authority of the Word of God.
In the pit, alone and surrounded by broken dreams with despair and depression lurking by our side, we are never separated from the love of God for us. “Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5, AMP) It is the realization that God’s love is still with us that causes us to renew hope, grow faith and rejoice even as we are surrounded by loss.
Dark Night of the Soul
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