Skip to main content

Follow Me on Facebook

How Dark Are The Dark Times? That Little Blue/Black Dress Got Me Thinking!

You know that little blue and black (white and gold for some) dress that's causing a stir all over the internet? (If you don't know about it, NO biggy!) 

Well, it really got me thinking. (And not only about how I need a new dress!)

Some people look at the photo and see blue and black and some see white and gold, even if they are looking at the same exact photo on the same exact device. It has to do with how the cones in our eyes interpret dim lighting. Anyway, I started thinking about how we see "dark" times in our life as opposed to how God sees them.

No - I do not believe God brings sickness or financial ruin. However, I do believe that most of the time we are so caught up in the darkness of very rough seasons, that we are unable to see a very bright light shining in the midst of it. That little dress all over the internet is freaking everyone out! 

How can two people look at the same photo and see two different things? 

Dark times are just like that.

Many times we realize after we have come out of a dark season, just how present God really was in the midst of it. Afterwards, we can look back and realize that it made us stronger, changed our viewpoints, brought us closer to God, etc. 

God actually shines brightest in our deep darkness - we can either focus on what He is doing in the midst of it, or we can focus on the darkness. Two people going through the same exact situation, can see it in two different ways which results in new found strength or a devastating crushing under the same burden.

Darkness empties us of understanding. Darkness drains us, and we are left completely and utterly confused when trying to figure it out with our natural understanding. This is where we aren't seeing things correctly! That darkness is actually filled with God's brilliant light. 

When we are left with nothing but an utter dependance upon God - that is the place of pure light; of pure surrender. And it is in that place that He shines brightest!


Hard times are hard and honestly, none of us like them. That's a fact. But I can see why Paul said he learned to be content whether abased or abounding. He was able to see that even in our darkest times, God will shine His light and turn faithless times into what can become our greatest victories.

And trust me - that dress...blue and black! 
That darkness...filled with great light!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Predicament of Desire

This has been such a beautiful season with the Lord for me personally. I've been so aware of the burning desire in my heart for Him, so grateful that He has fanned the flames of longing. There has been a fresh grace over me this year - a consistent desire to remain aware of the Lord's presence at all times.  Yet in my longing to hear more accurately, see more clearly, and encounter His Kingdom more profoundly, I was actually losing focus. It wasn't that I was getting distracted from this overwhelming desire to know Him more, but the desire itself was becoming larger than the Object of my desire. As I encountered Him more deeply, I also felt the frustration of wanting to be closer. The desire has been so deep, that the Lord finally revealed to me that the desire itself was distracting me. Focusing on what we aren't experiencing, causes us to come to Him with frustration instead of expectation. No matter how much we have experienced His love and have encountered His gl...

When Love Sweeps In (Day 22)

Today we celebrate the day Love took on human form and was birthed into the earth; Christmas day! Love comes and sweeps me off of my feet at times when I least expect it! At times Love comes and overwhelms me and at other times it feels as though my senses have dulled. In fact lately, the times which are usually the most amazing, have felt the driest. Recently, the times I feel Him the most is when I'm just thinking about Him and not making any effort of my own. He comes and initiates conversations with me, or just surprises me with overwhelming love for me that hasn't been earned by anything I have done;  it is a gift.   I now long for Him to come and reveal Himself to me in ways I have nothing to do with.  Such beauty in the absence of striving! Though He is in me, I cannot force a manifestation of His glory. Though I am FILLED with Him, I find myself craving greater consciousness of my holy union with Christ. I realize that I am as close as any human can...

The Saturation Point

To be ravished by His love is an honor too few have experienced. Fewer live in this proximity to God on a daily basis. I love the words to a song I heard today, sung by Steffany Frizzell:  "Your love has ravished my heart and taken me over, taken me over. And all I want is to be with You forever, with You forever. So pull me a little closer, take me a little deeper, I want to know Your heart, I want to know Your heart. Cause your love is so much sweeter than anything I've tasted, I want to know Your heart." I've been praying a great deal recently for Wisdom. (see Proverbs 2:2-5) There was something that resonated within me that if we can stay tapped into His Wisdom, everything else in our lives will fall into place. We have the mind of Christ, yet we don't engage it to the point that all of our thoughts are consumed by His.  Today I saw it so clearly: Many times we pray for Wisdom, or even for His presence to come and we imagine it as if we are on the outside,...