Shining in the Darkness

I was just thinking how many great men of God got their breakthrough moments in prison. The story of Joseph first came to mind. As a child, I could almost not bear reading about the cruelties he endured by his brothers and others that led him to a horrific prison. “Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.” Genesis 39:20

But while Joseph was there in the prison, Genesis 39: 21-22 says:

“the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”

All the unjust treatment from his childhood and early years in Egypt was required to position Joseph to become the near ruler of Egypt, at the exact moment in time when that country was the only one not experiencing famine. What God-appointed placement!

And one of Peter’s most legendary testimonies was not a sermon. He had Herod to thank for placing him in prison where one night he was in chains and sleeping between two guards. If he had never gone to prison, he would not have known the amazing moment when his chains fell off, a light shined, and an angel walked him right out of that place. He would have missed the chuckle he probably got when he went to a home where people were praying for him, and he stunned a servant girl. She came to the gate and got so discombobulated by the miracle of his standing there that she forgot to open the gate!  (This is a wonderful story if you want to read it in Acts 12:6-19.)

And prison was necessary to the witness of Paul to the Philippian jailer when the apostle refused to walk out of prison when he could have:

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.” Acts 16: 25-33

How exhilarating each of these experiences must have been! If Joseph, Peter, and Paul could have avoided these places before they happened, I feel sure they would have, but look what they would have missed! I would love to see chains fall and lights shine and angels appear! I would love to see the faces of my prayer partners witnessing a miracle in my life. I would love for unbelievers to see God’s power shake the earth around me and give me the opportunity to lead them to the Lord with great gentleness. If I knew ahead of time, the dark unpleasantness of a prison would be a price I would gladly pay.

But that is the problem. We don’t know ahead of time when it is for God’s Kingdom purposes that we have been put in an unpleasant place. When God allows us to suffer, we don’t see how that very circumstance may be what He is using to position for greater blessing or to show the incandescent and eternal light of Jesus in a dark place.

Are you in a dark place right now in your heart, marriage, career, culture, relationship, or other circumstances? We cannot anticipate what the mind of God has planned for us, but one thing we know for sure-- it is for our good and His glory! Allow yourself to get a tiny bit excited about the mysterious ways God might use what you are experiencing right now. You don’t know the end of the story, but He does, because He wrote it long ago, and it is good! So let your light shine through the dark places He places you in. You might be surprised what amazing things He is doing through you as you suffer.

“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28