“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie http://www.harvest.org/devotional

“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/

Micah 7:8-9… Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The Lord will be a light to me. 9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. (NKJV)

All Christians have been called out of the darkness of unbelief, by the Lord (1 Peter 2:9…2 Corinthians 4:6…&…Colossians 1:13), when they have been graced by God with salvation through saving faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ… [See (1) below]

But the Bible is clear, that Christians will go through periods of darkness…and that God will eventually lead them out of the valley of darkness, and back into the glorious light, that Christ’s righteousness brings into the lives of His redeemed, but obedient children…

We see in the opening scripture, where the nation of Israel was in darkness for their sins… And yet they knew the Lord would not forget those that had faith in Him… We as Christians, when we go through dark periods in our lives…need to be sure this darkness is not brought on by our own unconfessed sins…

God tells us that He will chastise and scourge the one’s He loves (His redeemed children), when they stray away from following Him…and break the sweet fellowship they had, by living in unconfessed sin…Hebrews 12:5-11… (2) But we see the result of those that hopefully are trained by this chastising by the Lord, in…

Hebrews 12:11… Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (NKJV)

Once all known sins have been confessed by us, as Christians…with godly sorrow and a repentant heart (2 Corinthians 7:10…1 John 1:9)…we will again (God willing) be out of the darkness that sin and a break in fellowship with the Lord has brought into our lives… Oh how sweet it is, to be walking as children of light (Ephesians 5:8-11)…living with “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” that walking with the Lord as a Spirit filled Christian will bring…Ephesians 5:18-20…

God will also bring what seems to be darkness into our lives, when we go through life’s inevitable trials… But God uses trials in our lives to test our faith in Him… Once Christians understand that God is sovereign…and that He uses all things to work together for good to those that love Him (Romans 8:28)…they should be able to find rest for their weary souls (Matthew 11:29)…and even joy through their worst trials of life (James 1:2-4)…

I am reminded of this verse from the 23rd Psalm…Psalm 23:4… Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (KJV)

God is always right there beside His children…ready, willing, and waiting to comfort and to guide us through ALL of life’s darkest valleys… We just have to lean on Him, when things get tough…and not on ourselves…

Here is some of my favorite scripture, penned my the wise Solomon, to sum up all of today’s writing… Proverbs 3:5-6… Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)

Heavenly Father, I thank You and I praise You for being a loving and caring Father, who will provide comfort and peace in our lives, when the world or our personal circumstances has us down in the valley of darkness… I pray Lord that all of Your children will learn that coming to You first, is where they will find rest for their souls… I pray for this fullness of Christ, and the peace that only You can provide, for all of Your children…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills

Related articles:

1) Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, after first being drawn in by God…John 6:44… https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/gods-group-thoughts-for-7112013-the-truth-about-sin/
2) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=heb12%3A5-11&version=NKJV;KJV