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“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Trusting God In The Dark


I was in a fabric store shopping for material for a special quilt. I found a print I especially liked, but when it was rolled out on the cutting counter, the clerk said there were tiny holes in it. I squinted my eyes and stared but the print camouflaged the holes. (At least that seemed like a good excuse to me. The truth is that once one passes the age of 50-something and wears bi-focals, detecting tiny flaws in fabric is best left to those with younger eyes. But I digress.)

The clerk--who was at least 30 years younger than me!--unfolded the material and held it up to the light. From that vantage point, I was able to see pinholes of light shining through, showing every flaw. Had she not shown the light on that material, I might not have noticed those holes and may well have used the fabric to make the quilt, unaware of the imperfections.

Last week I read a devotional that challenged me to ask God to reveal areas in my life that I haven't fully entrusted to Him. At first I thought, "No way. I trust God completely with every detail of my life." But did I really? So I took the challenge. I asked God to show me where I needed to trust Him more. His faithful demonstration of loving instruction was eye-opening, to say the least.

I found a verse in the fourth chapter of First Corinthians that described what I was asking God to do. "Therefore judge nothing before time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels (motives) of the heart." 1st Cor 4:5 I was asking God to unfold my life and hold it up to His light, thereby showing me the holes--my weaknesses, my failings, my shortcomings, and my vulnerability.

It's easy to trust God when everything is going my way. There's no pressure, no risk. But when the darkness of adversity closes in, those untended weaknesses that I've ignored can threaten to cripple me. The truth of God--His light--enables me to see how He fills those holes with His strength for my weakness, His forgiveness for my shortcomings, His glory for my failings, and His omnipotence for my vulnerability.

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2nd Cor 4:6

Through this exercise, I discovered it's not hard at all to trust God in the dark, because when I yield my weakness to Him, He give me His strength and I become stronger through Him than I ever could be alone. His strength is made perfect in my weakness (2nd Cor 12:9).

When I saw the flaws in the fabric, I chose a different piece of fabric. When God shows us our flaws, He doesn't discard us. He fills the flaws with Himself and uses us for His glory.

Thanks for letting me share my heart.

1 comment:

J M F said...

Connie, this is exactly what I needed to read. I've given you an award on my blog. Take a peek!