But our God is the God who emptied the tomb, who conquered death and burst free of graveclothes because no stone—or enemy—could hold Him back. And now Christ is the light of heaven (Revelation 22:5).
“It’s always darkest before the dawn” is a well-known phrase credited to Thomas Fuller, an English theologian, in 1650. There’s a literal meaning behind it that highlights the abstract symbolism. During the literal night, the sky is the blackest before it begins to lighten with the rising sun. Basically, it is dark until it is not—super profound, right? ::wink:: But, when you take that and apply it toward an emotional or mental circumstance, it can bring a lot of hope.
This is exactly what happened with Moses.
The already oppressed Israelites were working themselves near death, and when Moses requested Pharaoh give them a three-day break to feast before the Lord in the wilderness, Pharaoh not only said no—he increased their work by taking away their supplies and making them get the straw for brick-making themselves. Their burden became heavier when they tried to honor God.
Read that last line again.
The foremen in charge of the crews were being beaten for not completing the day’s work, and they complained to Moses, accusing him of making their situation worse. Moses then went to God and said the following:
"Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” Exodus 5:22-23 (ESV)
We’ve been there before, haven’t we? Hopeless. Confused. So many times in our lives, we find ourselves emotionally or spiritually where Moses was. We think we did everything right, crossed all the T’s, dotted all the I’s, and yet…crickets. Where is God? Why is He not holding up His end of the deal? Where is the light?
Here are three ways to endure the dark while waiting for the dawn:
1. Adjust Your Expectations
So much of our contentedness rides on our expectations. This is true not only in our relationship with God but in our earthly relationships with our family, friends, and spouse. Think how many arguments and hurt feelings could be avoided when we have realistic expectations instead of living in a dream world.
For example, if I know my husband is wired a certain way, yet I continually expect him to respond to me in ways that don’t come naturally to him, I will be disappointed. He might manage to pull it off occasionally by going out of his way, but for the most part, it won’t even occur to him to do this or that specific thing. I could assume the worst and accuse him of being uncaring or unloving, but he’s not being hateful—he’s simply responding from his unique character and viewpoint.
The same is true of the Lord. If we expect God to do what we want when we want it, we will be disappointed and likely start to think things of His character that aren’t true. Rather than trusting His much broader perspective of our lives, we cross our arms and demand our way. ::facepalm::
This isn’t to say stop holding out hope for what we want, but rather, we realize one important truth—there is no T-crossing and I-dotting deal with God. One of the most important things I learned during my season of unwanted divorce—my darkest season to date—was that it didn’t matter how good of a Christian I was, how hard I prayed, or how hard I tried not to sin…my husband wasn’t coming back. My going through a dark valley was not punishment or a result of me forgetting to dot an I.
My unintentional expectation had become an “if I do this or don’t do that, I won’t have to go through anything hard” deal with God. Except that wasn’t a deal God had ever accepted. It existed solely in my own mind, and in that season of divorce, I had to let go and embrace the promises God had actually made to me, which leads me to my next point...
2. Stay Faithful
In seasons of darkness, it’s important to stay faithful. Of course, you won’t do this perfectly because there will be days in your dark valley where the sun seems permanently out of sight, and hope is fleeting. There might be weeks or months of battling discouragement and the temptation to despair. This is when you need to be in the Word the most. You need to saturate your mind and heart with God’s promises. Maybe God hasn’t promised that your marriage will be restored or your diagnosis will go away or your financial struggle will cease. But His Word is chock full of guarantees for your heart, your salvation, your peace, and your joy. Immerse yourselves in those promises, and you’ll start to trust Him more regarding the shadowed circumstances you can’t control.
And you want to know the best part? God is faithful, even when we’re not! We read what Moses told the Lord in Exodus 5. Now, look what God said back to Moses in Exodus 6:1-6 (ESV):
"But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” 2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment."
He is faithful. Yes, God made promises to the Israelites that were specific to them in that situation, but we can still apply the Word of God to our hearts. God isn’t delivering us right now from slavery and spiritual persecution, like the context of these verses—but God still wants to deliver us from evil. From fear. From pride and sin. He’s there and very much involved in our daily lives—including our struggles.
Consider this beautiful guarantee found in Philippians 1:6 (ESV): "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
Want to know the Israelites’ reply to Moses when he delivered God’s promise? Exodus 6:9 (ESV) says, "Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery."
Oof. Isn’t that just like looking into a mirror? But God kept His promise to them anyway.
3. Remember It’s Not Over Yet
One of the most encouraging things I know is that God loves surprises. Some say He prefers those “midnight hour” rescues, the ones where it seems all hope really is lost. Just look at the cross. Nothing screamed "permanent despair" quite like those hours when Christ died. The earth even grew dark in the middle of the day in acknowledgment. But our God is the God who emptied the tomb, who conquered death and burst free of graveclothes because no stone—or enemy—could hold Him back. And now Christ is the light of heaven (Revelation 22:5).
That same God is working in your situation right now, even when you can’t see it. It’s not over yet! There is still room for a miracle, still time for redemption, still the hope of joy. Checks show up in mailboxes, spouses repent, and children come home. Wounds are healed, bad reports are revoked, and lawsuits are dropped. There is still hope for your circumstance, even when the shadows encroach and it feels like the sun is never going to shine again.
When you’re in the dark, remember that nothing is wasted. Your trial is never arbitrary because God works all things to make us more like Christ.
Romans 5:3-5 (ESV) "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
You will come through this dark season with good things, friend. The light is coming. The dawn is sure. It might not look the way you’re desperately hoping, but it is coming. Stay hopeful and keep a “weather eye" on that horizon. The sun will rise again.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/BERKO85
