Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…..thy rod and staff they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4

These words from Psalm 23 depict the very gut level trust God has for us.

When we are completely in the dark…..when we cannot see nor bear to see what is in front of us, God takes our hand and guides us home.

He knows where we are going.

He holds the map, because He created it.

He has our plan, our details all mapped out for us.  

When we cannot see in front of our own hand, we can take His hand and He will guide us.  

While in the dark, would you rather grope around, becoming hysterical because you cannot find your way?  

Would you like to become as a small child throwing a tantrum, demanding your way and throwing a fit until you get it?  

Finally collapse from the intense pressure of needing to know the future and planning for it yourself, making sure to cover every possible detail?

Not me.  No thanks.

I’d rather plead to my God who created the universe to guide me in all things.  I’d rather seek His face and surrender myself to His will and His plans for my future.  

I know my God wants the very best for me.

My joy gives Him pleasure.  My service pleases Him.

He wants to bless me and give me good things – all I have to do is provide gut-wrenching trust.  

I have to KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that my God has my back and will guide me in peace to safety.  

Will my life always be in utter darkness?  Will He reveal His plan to me at some point?  Yes.

In life, there are times of light and times of darkness. God is the same through each moment in our lives.  He’s simply standing there, waiting for us to take His hand.

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The darkness is engulfing me.  It has completely taken over my vision and I can no longer see anything.  Where did everything go?  The familiar surroundings have disappeared.  I recognize nothing.  It’s cold and damp.  The ache of loneliness coupled with the loss of vision has brought me to my knees.  I cannot think.  I’m desperate.  I’m lost.  I’m dying.  All I can think of is to speak the name of Jesus.  

He has to be here somewhere.  He’s promised never to leave us.  Jesus.  Jesus.  I need you.  I cannot see.  My life seems to be over and the chaos is overwhelming me.  I can’t breathe.  Jesus…. help.

I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder.  I cannot see who it is, but I feel a peace rippling through my body.  I feel God’s presence in the darkness.  Hope springs up.  Fear leaves.  I still cannot see anything at all, but I feel God’s hand on my shoulder, guiding me to my feet.  I can feel His arm holding mine and my feet fall into step with His.  His gentle presence and strong steady grip release the hold of fear.  I still cannot see anything, but I don’t care.  My God is with me and He will take me where I am safe.  He will surround and protect me.  I am His child.  He cares.  

We walk for months.  Sometimes we stop and take a break, but we keep pressing on in a certain direction.  We have moved away from the cold damp pit.  I don’t know where it went, but it’s far away.  I have God to thank for that. Things are changing in my life,  changes thrust upon me without choice.  It’s similar to the absence of choice leaves have to fall or not from trees in autumn.  But God takes care of those trees.

He lets them rest during the winter months.

That’s what God was doing with me during those dark times.  He let me rest.  Yes, He kept me walking towards His plan, but it was a restful peaceful walk.  He did the guiding, and I did the trusting.  Gut level trusting, because I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing.  I knew I needed to get away from the cold damp pit, but on my own, I could never have found my way out.

 I didn’t have the map.

There’s a dim light now.  I still don’t know where we are going, or what I am to do, but when I trust my God to lead me down the path of righteousness, I don’t care where I am going.  God will lead me where He wants me.  He will provide the job He wants for me.  He will provide the man He wants for me.  He will take care of me and my children along the way and make sure we are all thriving.  

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Trust.

I trust God with all of my heart.

He alone is able to bring us out of the darkness.  He alone will carry us in His arms when our strength is gone.

He will whisper words of peace and love to our broken hearts.  He will dry our tears when our hearts are overflowing with grief.

God is here.

He is waiting for you to trust Him so He can do the very same for you.

All you have to do is lay aside yourself and trust Him.

Gut level trust like you’ve never known before.

The kind of trust that only happens when you are literally in the dark and have nowhere else to turn.  No other options.

But God doesn’t care.

He’s happy to help you whenever you ask.

All you have to do is surrender.  Surrender yourself to Him and let Him do the rest.

Amazing things will happen.  I promise.

Photos by Zack Silver, Chris Hardy, Manikandan Annamalai, Laura Baker, Olivia Snow,  Kelly Sikkema, & Nick Seagrave on Unsplash