Don’t be scared of the dark!

This morning I thought to myself, I should write a blog, it’s been awhile. Then I went to go to the bathroom at our new Church in Sydney, I opened the door of the toilets but couldn’t find the light anywhere, I was in a hurry to get to Staff Meeting and didn’t have time to do go and ask anyone…so instead I held one main door open to let some light in while I opened another door to try and familiarise myself with my surroundings so that I knew where to head when the main door shut… Long story short, I literally moved around that unfamiliar bathroom in complete pitch darkness and tried to find the toilet paper, the flush and the basin without any light at all! It was quite hilarious but really made me think about operating when you can’t see…


Firstly, can I just say that I so admire people who are vision impaired and their capacity and tenacity to live their lives in what must many times seem so very difficult. Secondly, it made me think about us living our lives in what can sometimes feel like darkness because we really can’t see or understand what God is doing in us or through us.

It made me think of some of my amazing friends who have faced or still are facing really difficult circumstances; my beautiful friend Tracy who I saw go through all sorts of difficult circumstances, especially financially and yet she was still always so generous; I have no doubt that there would’ve been times of ‘darkness’ where she really felt like she couldn’t see a way out, and yet this amazing woman has started an incredible business that is booming (check it out www.gretelgirl.com – it’s amazing!) Or my gorgeous friend Lauren, who has been and still is battling a terrible disease in her body and I know there are times where she feels like she can’t see, where she wonders what God is doing and yet this girl still gives up so much of her time to look after Young people and tell them about Jesus and she is constantly posting Scripture about the faithfulness of our God. Then there’s my friends Amanda & Matt and Amanda & Chris who both had miscarriages and were devastated at the loss they felt but still I saw them worshiping God, trusting Him, allowing Him to heal them and both couples now have gorgeous little boys in their worlds! There are so many more people I could tell you about in my world who inspire me with the way that they live, despite at times not understanding or seeing what God’s doing.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take

Philippians 4:4-7 says
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

In that bathroom this morning (so spiritual I know!) surrounded by darkness, I couldn’t lean on my own understanding!! I’d never been in there before and had no idea where everything was, other than the quick glimpse I’d caught as the door shut… In our lives, we often find ourselves caught in the middle of darkness, places we’ve never been before with no idea how to get out. My encouragement to you, as well as myself, is to stop trying to work everything out by ourselves, to give up the right to understand what is happening or why it’s happening, and then (and only then) will we truly have the peace of God surrounding our hearts and guarding our minds, otherwise we are constantly wrestling with that darkness trying to work out how to get out in our own strength, often left exhausted and feeling all alone.

Reading God’s word, spending time in His presence, talking to Him and listening to His voice, all these things are like striking a match in that dark, dark room and all of a sudden being able to see our way out, or at least see a little of what God’s doing and the path He’s leading us on. I don’t think we will ever truly see all that He is doing, however I know that He IS good, He IS faithful, He CAN be trusted, and He WILL shape and form us to be more like Jesus as we trust Him to lead us through and out of the darkness…until the next dark spot! It’s all for a reason, He never wastes anything in our lives!

Romans 8:28
And we KNOW that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

So much more I could say…but I’m going to stop…maybe more next week! Jodes. x