Devotions

No doubt they were still talking about it as they set out across the lake while Jesus went into a mountain to pray. But those happy scenes faded quickly as darkness fell and the wind blew strongly against them. John underscores the fact that darkness had come, but Jesus had not come. Is this your experience just now? It wasn’t that long ago when you were enjoying the presence and power of Christ, but now for some reason a deep darkness has settled on your soul and has shrouded your whole world in blackness. You’ve sought the Lord but still Jesus hasn’t come to you, and now you’re thinking He never will come.

You must remember at times like this that your experience is a very common one to Christ’s people. The prophet Micah said, “When I sit in darkness” not if (7:8). Isaiah writes of a person “that walketh in darkness, and hath no light,” yet he’s described as one that “feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant” (50:10). Job said that God had “set darkness in my paths” (19:8). So resist concluding that something must be terribly wrong with you because of your present night season. Only those who have enjoyed the light of Christ’s presence can ever experience the darkness of Christ’s absence.

The simple yet difficult truth to believe when you’re sitting in darkness is that Jesus will finally come and you’ll once again enjoy His fellowship. No matter what your feelings or reasoning tell you, you must believe the Lord meant it when He promised: “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” You will soon hear His voice saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I. Be not afraid.”