Turn on the Light and Shut the Door

During a time of darkness God’s voice may not sound clearly in your ears, but understand that your perception of Him has nothing to do with the facts of His power, protection, and presence. He is with you always, regardless of the state of your hearing.

Do not give way to grief. Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears (Jeremiah 31:16). The Lord is bringing about healing as you walk and work and rest. Rest in Him now Child, rest.

You have brought your grief to the Lord’s light; now leave it in His hands. The healing occurs in the background, apart from your conscious awareness. This is by His mercy and love. You have turned on the light, now shut the door. You do not need to look at grief; instead, look upon His face.

Scripture: "I will strengthen them in the Lord, and in his name they will walk" (Zechariah 10:12).

The Lens of His Love

You become stubborn when you are hurt. This is the way you attempt to protect the injury, with this wall of stubborn clinging to the “facts of the situation.” Pray to be able to release the facts to to the Lord. The prospect of releasing one's perspective into God's hands is alarming; when you’ve been with Him any time at all you begin to realize that facts are fluid and that He is the only Truth. The dawning recognition that His ways are not yours and His thoughts are above yours can make release more difficult until you look upon the light of His face, perceive something of His power, and know of His love (see Isaiah 55:8, Psalm 44:3). The combination of love and power is calming, “Oh, He loves me perfectly and cares about my heart!” And, “He is powerful to control my circumstances.”

Pray to be able to take your eyes off the “facts” and place them upon the Lord; pray to be enabled to lift your eyes to Him. You know the Lord and you have thrilled to His love; now choose to view this situation through the lens of His love for you.

Scripture: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..." (Hebrews 12:2).

Entrust Your Case to God

You will fall to anger and resentment if you focus on the ways in which you have been hurt. You have kept a record of the blows you've been dealt and have rehearsed your arguments in an attempt to be prepared to plead your case. Have you forgotten that the Lord fights for you? It is safe to entrust your case into His hands because it will not be lost or forgotten; if you forget, He will not forget. Only remember to abide in Him so that you do not thwart His justice or deny your right to His good gifts when they arrive.

Imagine that you are at the center of a complicated legal battle. Many opponents are coming against you and, lacking the knowledge to defend your own case, you seek out an expert attorney. Entrusting your case into his hands, you willingly follow his lead.

Follow the Lord's lead. Give Him your full attention. Don't keep a careful record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5). Your goal is not to justify yourself, but rather you are to love as you've been loved and to forgive as you have been forgiven (Colossians 3:13).

Scripture: "...Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day" (2 Timothy 1:12).

In Just a Little While

The Lord is with you. He is intimately present with you, His desire is for you, and He delights in you.

You are not yet able to see Him perfectly, but you can take delight in His company in the here and now. Fulfillment of the longing in your heart will come soon, but until then He is with you through the Holy Spirit's presence in your heart. When you feel discouragement and anger over the circumstances of your life, understand that your longing is not for human love, but that you are frustrated with desire to see His face.

He longs for you uniquely, and He loves you uniquely. The part of Him that belongs to you belongs to no one else, you know Him in a way that no one else does, and He knows you completely. You touch a place in His heart that no one else can satisfy.

You will be completely satisfied in Him, and He in you. He is the Lover like no other; He completes you. You complete Him. Without you, He is whole, but He is not satisfied. Without Him you can be neither whole nor satisfied. Let Him prepare you for Himself. Let Him prepare you to be the perfect bride.

You don’t understand how this can be so, but do understand the fact that it IS so. Not seeing Him, you love Him. This is faith.

In just a little while, you will be at home with the Lord. Today the Holy Spirit lives within you. You are thus able to satisfy your desire for unity with Christ by feeding upon His Word. Your aching heart will find solace as you experience the peace of a weaned child with its mother (see Psalm 131:2).

Scripture:
"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me" (John 16:16).

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7).

"...the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26).

"I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you" (John 14:18-20, The Message).