August 4, 2026
Hope In the Dark
Experiencing the harsh realities of a struggling world brings the pain into sharp focus. My son is a pastor in Twin Falls, Idaho so I have been able to watch him address the mass shooting that happened there recently. He talked about focus, betrayal, a sense of vulnerability when violence enters our ‘safe place.’ He said something interesting that took my breath for a moment. He said, “And yet, we can read where a thousand people are swept away in a flood on the other side of the world and we’re like, “Pass the salt.”” Pass the salt. Those are not our people. That is not our restaurant. Ahh. But they are God’s people.
The human struggle is real. Doubts assail many of us at the moment we need God the most. We question His righteousness when we need His grace and mercy. How could God let floods and earthquakes, mass shootings and plane crashes happen? To question events is understandable. Doubting God is the thing we must never allow. He gave us free will, remember? He does not do those things. People do them. Nature does them.
We stand in Your wisdom and listen, Lord. We love Your voice. We know You care and You are near. Thank you, God, for perspective. He speaks to us. Through other’s words, through dreams, and often through nudging us as we meditate or pray. A name, a revelation, a thought of something He wants us to do. Obedience increases these words from God. Be aware He wants to communicate. His love is a comforting balm. We wait in hope. Our faith gets pummeled, but it develops strength. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, but it must be exercised. We wait in hope, we pray, we build expectation and in the end, we rejoice as more fully developed Christians.
When the world seems cruel and the tests challenging, remember the God we serve. This God of Might, this God who never changes. This God whose promises are Yes and Amen. Sleep in peace, trusting Him and knowing His words are always going to be fulfilled! When we don’t know the answers, when we cannot predict an outcome, we trust God. We employ faith. We stand in the Gap, praising God, and knowing He is on our side.
God is on His throne. God lives! God thunders through the universe just as He did in the times when Jesus walked the earth. He cares. He knows. He keeps His word. It is sin to fear and worry once God has touched our souls. We all face trials and dark times. Faith is both refuge and accepted promise.
Lord God, You have taken care of me when I still had to learn who You were in my life. You have shown me Your plans for me and blessed me with undeserved love. I am lost in that great love and I trust You implicitly. Help me, Lord, to trust You in the dark times, to know a tortured soul with a gun, a madman with a bomb or a wildfire coming at people from many directions is NOT the hand of God. Give us, I pray, discernment between an enemy bent on our destruction and Your amazing love. I love You, Lord. Thank You for all You do for all of us.
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. ..