Dark Times and Dry Places

We have the wet and dry places and wet and dry seasons. worst is to have such a dry ground in our minds that no seeds can find a way to grow. Worse also when it stays dark everywhere where we look and worst when it stays dark in our heart.

Darkness can take us over. Darkness can be a chain which we can’t get loose. When the padlock is despair we are in bigger trouble. It may be a cipher code lock or one with a key. In the first case we do have to find the code in the second one we may be happy when we do find the key to fit.

At all times we should know that the cipher codes, the letter codes and the keys are all prepared for us, and lying in front of us. They are freely given. We only have to see them shining in the dark and take them (for free).

*

To remember:

• Life is full of good things.
• No day passes without a blessing of some kind =>  God is just that good.
• many reasons why we face dark times and dry places.
• disobedience, opportunities to grow, to travel through shadow lands
• struggling to find hope
• Psalm 42 = sustenance for parched soul + light for the darkened path
• God commands His steadfast love
• God’s work in us never ends.
• our hope = God is with us in the darkness > using time to strengthen us, teach us, and transform us.

+

Preceding articles:

Are you right down in the dumps? Stop digging!

He who knows himself, is kind to others

Fear, struggles, sadness, bad feelings and depression

The Person Who Cannot Despair

A Glory followed by Despair

Next: Dark times, dry places, panting hearts, thirsting, being cast down and patience

++

Find also to read:

1. Dealing with worries in our lives
2. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #10 Prayer #8 Condition
3. Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair
4. Old age
5. Companionship
6. Importance of parents 1
7. Within despair

+++

Related articles

• In Oregon, City Officials See Resistance to an “In God We Trust” Display (patheos.com)
  I’ve been seeing more stories lately about local city councils voting to put up “In God We Trust” plaques in their buildings. There’s no much we can do about it. All they have to do is say “It’s the country’s motto!” and the argument that it advances religion becomes moot, even if that’s entirely accurate.
• The Fear of the Lord (llamapacker.wordpress.com)
  to be in the fear of the Lord is not to be scared of the Lord, even though the Hebrew word has overtones of respect and awe. ‘Fear’ in the Bible means to be overwhelmed, to be controlled by something. To fear the Lord is to be overwhelmed with wonder before the greatness of God and his love. It means that, because of his bright holiness and magnificent love, you find him ‘fearfully beautiful.’ That is why the more we experience God’s grace and forgiveness, the more we experience a trembling awe and wonder before the greatness of all that he is and has done for us.
• Thanks (achristianmeditation.wordpress.com)
  It is easier to give thanks to God when everything is going well, than it is when we have conflict and trouble in our life. When there is sickness, discouragement, failure, misunderstandings; when all seems to be lost, how can we give thanks? From a human viewpoint we experience anxiety, depression or despair.
• Thanks (devog.wordpress.com)
  Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
• Forgiveness of sins (genesisone.wordpress.com)
  God’s great desire was to save us from our sin and its terrible consequence of eternal separation from Him. Here again His object is stressed in an unmistakeable way. His primary purpose in the gift of His Son Jesus was to provide a salvation through forgiveness. As we shall see this could not happen through His overlooking sin but by facing and dealing with it in a new, remarkable and righteous way. It would take Jesus to the cross.
• Intimacy or Integrity: Embracing Vulnerability in the Face of Intimate Allegations (danjbrennan.com)

  Is intimacy as an orientation worth the risk? Between friends? Between leaders? Between female friends? Between male friends? If intimate friendship is no safeguard from exploitation and abuse, is it worth the risk? Is it wise in light of the risk to choose an invulnerable posture toward others? You know, only have Jesus as an intimate friend—a kind of designer spirituality for self-protection.

  To really open up a can of worms, is intimacy worth the risk between men and women as friends? Is it wise to invite men and women into this vulnerability of intimate love when this vulnerability could be exploited by one of the friends?  This is not a simple matter in the twenty-first century as some Christians believe.

• God Turns Darkness Into Light (divinedirection.typepad.com)
  Not only does the Lord turn our darkness into light, but He also wants to fill us with His light.
• Psalm 23 – The key (pastornorman.wordpress.com)
  I need nothing stems from my relationship with the Lord, my shepherd. There is however a key to that becoming my reality. The Psalmist is about to list a bunch of stuff that is suppossed to be true for every believer but first he gives us the key we need to unlock the truth..
• Code painting (fogus.me)

This Side of Hope

Picture Credit: Josh LeClair

Life is full of good things. From the beauty of a golden sunset to the joy of a child’s sweet embrace, life offers a plethora of wonderful experiences and people. No day passes without a blessing of some kind because God is just that good.

But sometimes the good seems far away. There are days when the darkness rolls in, and I find myself plagued by sadness and despair. I am no stranger to these shadowy visitations. I would like to think I’ve grown more adept at handling them as I’ve grown older, but I cannot say they have left me entirely, and I find myself wondering why they trouble me so.

The Bible indicates there are many reasons why we face dark times and dry places. The prophet Elijah sat despondent in a cave because he was afraid. (I Kings 19) Jonah spent…

View original post 251 more words