Darkness is not always the ENEMY!

All of us have had times in our life that we felt that everything was going wrong. It seemed that nothing would go right. You woke up late for work and the car would not start. You received a phone call from school and your child is acting up. A family member or close friend is sick. You go to purchase something and find that your account is in the negative. Your boss and coworkers are nagging you about an upcoming deadline. It seems that you are taking blow after blow, and each blow feels stronger than the one before. You may be saying "Just knock me out already." Although it may seem that your home, work environment, relationships, and/or finances are chaotic, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

I know, I know the saying "There is light at the end of the tunnel" is just words, but it is very true and reassuring. Times of darkness is where we gain our strength. Sounds crazy, huh? Think about it. When we take one blow after another, we often feel defeated. However, it takes strength to overcome the most trying times. Each time you pick yourself up, you are becoming stronger and wiser. When the load you are carrying gets heavier, you find strength to take a few more steps. It takes strength to press on when you feel broken mentally, emotionally, or physically.

This is why we should learn to praise God even more during our darkest hours. The dark periods is  where we gain muscle. God uses us during these times to better ourselves. When we are in the darkness we pray more often and harder. By no means am I saying that we should only pray when things are bad, but it is natural to pray more often and harder during bad times. We should use the time of darkness to ask God to reveal our purpose and work toward fulfilling it.

I understand it's hard because I am currently in my period of darkness. There were days that all I wanted to do was stay in bed and eat blue bell ice cream. Some days I did just that. Some days I walked around like a zombie, just going through the strokes. Some days I felt ok, but then I would break down suddenly into tears. There were days I felt like I could not breathe. But I realized that I was being the most dramatic and selfish person ever. I was being so selfish feeling sorry for myself, and for thinking that I should not have to go through a dark point. How could God ever work on me if things were always good. God was constantly revealing my purpose, but I was to stubborn to listen. Now I am listening. I choose to spend my times of darkness helping others through theirs. I know the blessings and breakthroughs are near.

So, remember to treat you darkest hours as you greatest hours. Pray harder than you ever have and lean on God when you feel weak. Don't sit around in self-pity, get up and use the time to become a better you because the darkness will soon pass.