Treasures of Darkness | The Chaplaincy of Poitou Charentes

I was drawn to Isaiah 45:3 recently- 
“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places.” I had the sense that this verse was very relevant at this time and rather than focus on the ongoing difficulties and frustrations I was to seek the “treasures”, to search for the hidden riches that God had for us during this dark time. To ask Him what these were and to wait for a reply. The result is a reflection on this, and by no means complete as we are not yet through it.

The context of this passage was a prophetic message that Isaiah had for Cyrus, King of Persia, who would some 140 years later, overthrow Babylon. The historian Josephus quoted King Cyrus as saying, “God Almighty .... foretold my name by the prophets.... that I should build him a house at Jerusalem...” By this prophecy he is encouraged to look for the vast quantities of treasure that Babylon had hidden. These riches then helped to fund the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. It was Cyrus, in fact, who released the Israelites after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Similarly, there are “treasures” to be found in this time of captivity, but like the hidden wealth in Babylon we must search for them, they won’t just present themselves to us! 

A few days after reading Isaiah 45 I came across this in 2 Samuel 22:29, “You are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord turns my darkness into light”. Also, in Psalm 139 we are told that “the darkness is as light” to our Lord. So, as we walk with Him, we will not be overcome by whatever dark experiences we are going through. He will shine His light around us so that we see where to walk. They are known to Father God and He will lead us through them. He will not always lift us out of them, but He will accompany us and strengthen us, giving us hope in the darkest night. Even if it feels so dark that we are no longer aware of His presence, He is aware of us and will never leave us or forsake us. 

I read this poem recently written during the 2nd World War, it is not known who by: - 
“I believe in the sun when it is not shining. 
I believe in love when I don’t feel it. 
I believe in God when He is silent”. 

So, our Lord remains with us, even when we are no longer aware of His
greatness and power to keep us. He holds on to us in the darkest nights and will rescue us from all dangers and will comfort us in our distress. As Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, said in another century. “It’s not about great faith but faith in a great God”. 

For me, one of the ‘treasures’ of this time is a much deeper awareness of the fact that God is in control. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is absolutely nothing that I can do to change the circumstances that we live in at present. The only option is to trust Him. Further, because I believe, with all my heart, that God is good and committed to His children I know that He will bring us through this time and even bring good out of it. It’s like the things that I believe are becoming much more rooted in me. An intellectual faith or someone else’s faith just won’t ‘cut it’. I have the choice daily to be overcome by these times or to rise above them in God’s strength and He has not let me down. 

Throughout history light has come out of the darkest of times. The greatest example of this is when Jesus was crucified on the Cross. When He was put in that tomb, He was dead and the hopes of all who had followed Him died too. We know that wasn’t the end though and three days later He rose from the dead! Death is the punishment for sin but because Jesus had never sinned death had no power over Him. What is amazing is that He offers that same victory over death to us. As we come to Him in true repentance for all the wrong that we have done, Jesus gives to us freely forgiveness from sin and victory over death. It won’t hold us either!! Jesus came into the World as the Light of the World and as we read in John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it”. 

Give us the grace Lord, to hold on to that truth in these days and to search for the “treasures” that You would show to each one of us daily.