There is no doubt that we are in a dark season on earth. A season that seems like the fulfillment of the first part of that scripture in Isaiah 60:2 is being played out 

“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people, but the LORD rises upon you and His glory appears over you”

Even the trendy issues at the moment are driven by fear and anxiety and some of God’s children are looking hopeless, sounding negative, and feeling faint hearted. There are ways to live above the darkness that is covering the earth and this devotional will serve as a reminder of the promises God has for you in this season and beyond. 

I remember the story of the children of Israel in Egypt, they had to live through 10 different deadly plagues. There was fear in the land. In Exodus 7, the people saw the plague of blood, frogs, livestock, boils, death, hunger and several other plagues that took many lives. 

However, that didn’t take God by surprise as it was already prophesied over 400 years before. A promise to bring the children of Israel into a better land filled with milk and honey. 

What we are going through does not take God by surprise, He knew these times would come and He has made provisions for us in His word.

Here are a few promises God made to us in His word to light up our dark seasons. 

• He will never leave us

• He will comfort us

• His peace He gives us 

• He will be our joy

• He has loved us with a real love

God promised to always be with us no matter what the situation is. 

Mathew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

 Sometimes due to the pressure of what is going on around us, we forget that we have a father who promised never to leave us. He is not like one of us, who says one thing and at some point, starts to waver either due to the pressures of life or the condition of our heart. He is consistent with His word. He stands by it and has never failed, not even once. Whatever He says, that He will surely do.

 Romans 9:5 “God will do what He said He would do. Not all who are Jews belong to the real Israel.”

 Prayer point: When we are overwhelmed, Lord remind us that you are with us and will never leave us stranded, Amen. 

John 14:18-23 

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

The word comfort is an interesting word in that it is popular for being used when people lose loved ones, friends or family members. Comfort means the easing or alleviation of a person's feelings of grief or distress. This is one of the promises Jesus made to us.

We cannot talk about comfort as a word, without revealing the personality behind it. He is popularly known as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Comforter and the one who guides us into all truths. He is also the One who speaks to us about how to navigate life in good times, dark times and at all times. He knows all things. 

John 14: 16 “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever”

He sent Him to be with us at all times and to help us but we have to open our heart to receive Him and allow Him to guide us. Here are some of the many advantages of allowing the Holy Spirit to fill our heart:

• He will guide our decision-making process since He knows the end from the beginning

• He will teach us the secret things about life

• He will remind us of the promises of Jesus 

• He will help us pray the will of God for our lives

• He will help us in our weakness

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Prayer point: Father, I open my heart to receive your spirit, I ask for your spirit to direct and guide me in my daily decisions, I will never walk in darkness because your spirit brings light in Jesus name. 

Mark 4: “35 And the same day, when the evening was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him even as He was in the ship. And there were also with Him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Peace is a state of calmness, quietness and freedom from disturbance, it is also an emotional state of stillness. Every now and then, we go through situations that are out of our control and that throws us off balance. We become panicked, fearful or helpless. In Mark 4:35-39 we can see how the disciples reacted despite having Jesus on the boat with them.

They set out to move to the other side and all of a sudden, a bad storm started. They were panicking, fearful and began to question if Jesus really cared about them like He had been saying. They forgot the abilities of He who was in the boat with them. This is a typical example of how we get when going through dark times. We begin to question every word that we had once believed. We get mad at God, and in frustration we lash out at everyone close to us. Our spouse, friends, children, coworkers, parents, classmates. Sometimes we even isolate ourselves and turn to habits that are detrimental to our health, both physically and emotionally.

Nonetheless, Jesus knows that we would have days or seasons like this. He knows that we would need His peace, so He made us a promise to give us His peace out of His love for us. A peace that surpasses all understanding and that’s not based on emotions.

 Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 Prayer point: Pray that we will open our heart to the peace of God to calm every storm that we may be going through in Jesus name. 

Nehemiah 8:10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

 Joy is known as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, Joy is an emotion that’s acquired by the anticipation, acquisition or even the expectation of something great or wonderful. It can result from a great success or a wonderful experience like a wedding or graduation, winning a game, getting a new job, or accomplishing a task. Jesus then redefines Joy not as an emotion but as one of the fruits of the spirit and then offers it to us as a gift. The Bible also tells us that joy is a strength. 

 Jesus showed us that the kind of joy He promised was not emotionally based, that is determined by what happens around us. He showed us that His joy enables us to go through dark times and sets us up to attain greater heights.

Hebrews 12: 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

 Jesus endured the cross for the Joy set before him.

 We live in a world filled with so many unexpected events that alters the way we feel emotionally. Like we established earlier, some of the events are out of our control. Joy as the world knows it would not have been good enough for us. We need a more stable joy so that when life happens the joy of the lord can be our strength.

 Prayer point: Lord help me receive Joy not as an emotion but as a gift so that whatever happens, my strength will not fail but that your joy would be my strength.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him  shall not perish but have eternal life.

 One of the things we question a lot in life is Love. Because of its emotional nature, it comes with a lot of responsibilities. When those responsibilities or expectations are not met by the parties involved, we call it “fake.”

 The foundation of our faith is based on love. A loving God decided to love His creation with an everlasting love that cannot be broken or comprehended with human minds or intelligence.  This type of love is; a perfect love towards imperfect people. It assures us that His love is consistent and doesn’t depend on our ability to reciprocate. This love also tells us that it is a person and not a series of events. He doesn’t need to prove himself; it is His nature both in good times and in dark times 

 1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love

 God is love and He loves us. We know that in our minds, but often we don’t live that way. The reality of God’s love surrounds us day by day, as revealed in these verses.

 Psalm 36:7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God! 

 Psalm 86:5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. 

We learn that…

• God’s love is steadfast and unchanging

• God’s love comforts us

• God’s love is revealed to us through Jesus Christ

• God’s love is poured into us through the Holy Spirit

• God’s love compels us to love one another

His love is so amazing that even when we don’t feel lovable, He loves us dearly and has promised to love us eternally. All that is required is for us to believe and we will surely receive His amazing love.

Psalm 136: 1 -4

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

        His love is eternal.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

        His love is eternal.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

        His love is eternal.

He alone does great wonders.

        His love is eternal.

Prayer point: Pray that you will accept the perfect love of God today, and allow it permeate your heart in Jesus name.