daily devotional

Have you ever wondered why God, in all his power and majesty, made the world the way he did? Why would he create the Earth to be a round ball, then why would he make it spin? Why would he position the sun to create light and darkness, day and night?

God designed our world to go through light and darkness on a daily basis, when he could have just as easily made it bright and sunny every day, all day. But God, in all of his wisdom and authority wanted day and night. He wanted bright sunny skies and dark nights.

Psalm 104: 19-24 “He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. You bring darkness, it becomes night … How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all!”

It is God’s wisdom that makes the sun to set. It is God’s knowledge that makes the dark of night. There is purpose in this. The sky gets dark at night for a reason. It is a forced reminder we were never meant to see everything. An invitation to trust what is unseen instead of trying to see it all, know it all, and control it all.

Maybe your sun has gone down. Maybe life just got dark and you can’t see the next steps clearly. You don’t know what’s ahead because everything in front of you is in the dark unknown. How do you move forward when you can’t see? What do you do when you don’t know? How do you trust when you’re scared?

The truth is, everything is more scary in this darkness. Have you ever watched a scary movie in the day? All scare tactics are totally ineffective. Watch it at night in a dark house and suddenly you’re afraid of going to your own bathroom alone. Blame the darkness, it makes your mind run wild.

Is your mind running wild in the darkness? Are you running through worst case scenarios as fast as you can imagine them? Are you surrendering to the night, convinced the day will never come? Convinced this will never get better? You will never be okay again? Oh honey, you just can’t see the new day getting ready to break. You can’t see the light that’s on it’s way.

Maybe that’s why God created this round rock we live on to spin around the sun and give us light and darkness. Maybe it was to teach us that the world will keep spinning, and no matter how dark the night was, the light of a new day will always come.

Have you ever watched the sun set and worry it would never come back up again? No! That would be complete nonsense! You’ve never been given a reason in the world to assume it would be dark forever! It is dark, then it’s light again. It’s been that way every single day of your life. It’s no accident.

This is all the design of a loving God who created you and put you in the middle of this beautiful world he formed with his thoughts, his hands, and his words. You live here where you learn to never question night turns into day. Darkness is replaced by light, then it grows dark again before the light returns. There’s a rhythm. A rhythm you can’t control, but you are to trust.

Yes, this is why the sky gets dark at night. For you to learn the rhythm of life. The rhythm of light and darkness. The rhythm of seeing and not seeing. Knowing and not knowing. Trusting.

Psalm 139: 12 says of God “even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, or darkness is as light to you.”

You can’t see right now, but God can! You’re uncertain of what may happen next as you stand here in this darkness, but God knows. This is not a mystery to him. If he has kept it a mystery to you at this point, trust it is for a reason.

What would you do if you knew … well you might just screw things up. You might start doing things you’re not supposed to be doing right now. If you knew what God was bringing your way next, you might miss what he has for you here now. So, he keeps it in the dark and he says TRUST ME. REST IN ME.

If you don’t know, you’re not supposed to know. And if you’re not supposed to know, it’s because God wants you here in this moment knowing at just the right time he will shine his light and reveal what he has been working to bring you.

IT WILL COME.

Has the sun ever failed to come up for you? Ever? No. The dark night is always followed by the light of day. You trust it to be true and you don’t freak out when you see that sun setting. You welcome it. You step into night trusting this is the time to rest. This is the time to be renewed. This is the time to prepare for the next day that is surely on it’s way.

God has never failed you in this. And sweet girl, God will not fail you here now.

Dark times happen, but this is not dark to God. He can see right through this. He has night vision and his work continues here. You rest. You trust. Do whatever you need to do to be ready for the light to return and reveal what God has been doing during this darkness. You will see it and you’ll be glad you got ready for it!

What’s God working on for you? Oh I don’t know girl, but if it’s dark right now it’s supposed to be. The reveal is going to be amazing! Watch for the sun to come up. You know it’s coming again! This darkness will not last forever.

If things seem dark right now, just know it’s night time. It’s a time of intentional unknowning, unseeing, rest and trust. It’s preparation for when things become known and it’s go time!