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Turning Back the Darkness
by Cate Russell-Cole "You light a lamp for me. The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness. In Your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God's way is perfect. All the LORD's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection." Psalm 18:28-30 Night is the worst time for any of us who are hurting. It is in the dark and quiet, when you can't sleep and long hours stretch out ahead, that every fear, hurt and discouraging thought you can muster, catches up with you. I have had insomnia for years and when I am stressed, it becomes uncontrollable. I sometimes get out of bed and try and do something to distract myself; but then I pay in exhaustion the next day. Through most of my time in bed, I simply stew over everything that is wrong. That is one very bad idea! When studying the Psalms, I've noticed that David talks a lot about the night time. It's obvious that his troubles have kept him awake through many nights too, but there are a lot of positive Scriptures, which have me looking at the dark hours in a new way. That time of quiet can be harnessed and used to build our relationship with the Lord. Instead of stewing, turn that rumination into praying. Then add the Word of God, and seek His company as you turn an awful time into fellowship. There is no guarantee this will generate an instant answer, but if it builds your walk with God into one which has some of the quality that David's had, this is time exceedingly well spent, which will bring you joy. Here is David's approach to facing the night hours. 1. Search for correction, as well as healing, deliverance and direction! "Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." Psalm 4:4 "You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinised me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say." Psalm 17:3 2. Reflect on the goodness of the Lord in your life. That can only lead to praise. "But each day the LORD pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life." Psalm 42:8 3. Meditate on the Word of God. "I lie awake thinking of you, meditating onYou through the night." Psalm 63:6 and "I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me." Psalm 16:7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information on King David, please have a meander through the King David Project Facebook page, our web site and our blog, "Masada Rain." The blog houses many useful resources on studying, David plus bits and pieces of information which don't neatly fit into article form. Please ignore dates and use the search feature to find what you want. The web site has resources on David's family tree, life and the Psalms. All content is creative commons and non-profit. Sharing of the project's work would be deeply appreciated. Masada Rain Blog: https://masadarain.wordpress.com The project web site: http://cateartios.wix.com/kingdavidproject Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fromdespairtodeliverance Twitter: @Masada_Rain "From Despair to Deliverance: the King David Project," is a non-profit ministry, that seeks to make the life of King David easy to understand and relevant, so that believers gain inspiration and comfort from the life of King David. The project is run by Cate Russell-Cole, a Christian writer from Brisbane, Australia. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This article by Cate Russell-Cole is under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Written in Australian English. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |