Who loves a good, dark, cloudy walk? I actually do! Now my pup, that’s a different story. My rescue puppy is still getting used to the world around him, including walks and stormy weather. As dark clouds rolled in around us, I noticed he was a little nervous and was not sure what to do, literally stopping in his tracks. I called him over, we had a mid-walk snuggle, and then he was good to go.

“I’m in the darkness, even when you can’t see me.” That thought came to me immediately after, and I instantly knew it was a God whisper. I thought of those ‘Where are you, God’ moments that I’ve had in my life. The times when I was so caught up in my fear, anxiety, depression, pain, confusion, literally all the feels that I couldn’t see where God was. I didn’t feel close to Him and even felt abandoned. It’s in those moments that we need to remember God is always with us. Just as we know scientifically that the sun is always there, no matter how dark the storm clouds are, we must also recognize that God’s light is always shining in and through us, too. 

My most recent struggle has been the stress, worry, and fear of not being able to meet my financial obligations. I was laid off this year and was without a job, which was a scary thing to me, as I’ve always had a job and an income. I had to intentionally go to God daily to make sure I was close to Him and that I would know that He was close to me, even in that darkness. There were days I was positive thinking, ‘God’s got me!’ There were days when I felt like I had to take things on myself; I needed to do all the things on my list to make sure I had a job. Then there were the ‘Where are you, God’ days for sure.

Looking back, I see and know that God was there the entire time, not only. He brought me out of it, and I am blessed to be an Associate Director of Student Ministry at my church, a job I never thought I was qualified for, and I see that it was all God! All the applications I filled out, the countless new connections I made on LinkedIn, the grind I had going, were all nothing compared to the prayers I gave daily, multiple times a day. There were prayers of panic, prayers of frustration, prayers of helplessness, but they all led me closer to God. It was God who heard all those prayers and saw me drawing closer to Him that brought the opportunity to me. 

When my now-boss let me know about the possibility, I had a different kind of panic; I didn’t think I was qualified. I had to fully surrender to God, knowing that not only would God provide for me but that He would qualify me Himself. I had to know that God’s light was there with me in this dark time. I have to remember God is with me through all the dark times that will come as well.

My bible reading today happened to be in Acts 2, and I couldn’t help but connect how the apostles must have been shocked in their dark times, too. They had seen Jesus beaten, tortured, and ultimately His dead body put inside a tomb. To say this was a dark time for them is an understatement. In Acts 2: 2 -4 God shows up in their darkness in a way that I’m sure none of them saw coming! There was a ‘roaring windstorm,’ flames, speaking of tongues, and of course, the Holy Spirit coming into everyone. That’s the kind of thing God does when we draw close to Him. God provides in His timeline and in His way because it is not just for us but to build His Kingdom. 

God, I pray that I remember You are always with me, especially during the dark, stormy times of my life. Thank you for loving me so much, and I love you. Amen. 

See ya in the next post, with

✝️Lots of Faith & Lil’ Bit of Fur 🐾