Live With Eternal Perspective Podcast Episode 105 God is Present in the Darkness
Welcome to the Terri Hitt – Live With Eternal Perspective Podcast
Episode #105 – God is Present in the Darkness
Thank you for entrusting and investing your precious time with me to grow in Jesus together. I am blessed to be back with you to discuss more ways to live with eternal perspective.
Psalm 112:4 says, “Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.”
One evening last week I dropped my middle daughter off at an event and told my youngest we would do something special together while we were waiting for her sister. We were quite a distance from home, so we didn’t know the area at all, but I was confident we could find something to do together. After leaving Marissa, I plugged in the name of a local place to get food or drink, but the navigation system said the nearest location was 200 miles away. Knowing that my system, or “Navi,” as we like to call it, is often simply wrong, I typed in another destination I thought would bring up results. After receiving info, I selected an option and drove off, knowing Brooklyn and I would share some fun over the next 90 minutes.
After driving away, I followed exactly where “Navi” guided me to go, and ended up with uncertainty surrounding us on an unfamiliar, one-lane gravel road. Light barely shined from my headlights as they attempted to pierce the blackness. Although it wasn’t all one-lane, almost all of it was in total darkness, except for the “too-bright” lights of occasional other cars headed in the opposite direction. Driving in the country on unlit gravel roads and highways are not my idea of fun or relaxation. Wanting to be calm in front of my daughter, so that she did not worry, I shifted my priority to remaining in prayer along the journey. Deep in thoughtful conversation and petition, I kept hearing myself ask God to keep us safe, show us the way to civilization, keep us from hitting any deer, and keep any deer from hitting our car.
Prayer and connection with the Lord was all that separated me from fear. Instead of building anxiety, my level of peace began rising with each word spoken to my Father.
Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
After about 15 minutes of concentrated connection through prayer, especially concerning deer, I passed a large buck just standing on the side of the road. Only about six feet separated us. As our car passed by him, the creature watched us, yet his body remained in place. I knew with certainty that God had stilled him until our car moved by. At that moment, I felt the peaceful, intimate voice of God whispering to my spirit, “I see you. I hear you. I am always with you.”
Romans 8:26 says, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”
I believe the Holy Spirit impressed the importance of praying about deer specifically. During the drive I felt a quiet urgency to pray for protection. Because it was constant and steady without being alarming, I chose to heed the call and obey through prayer. Seeing the deer standing by the side of the road, I felt the animal was a symbol of the protection God supplied because I obeyed and cried out to Him. Although He didn’t need to prove Himself, God allowed me a special glimpse of the personal care He intimately chose for us that night.
Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He is merciful and His provisions are perfect for our needs. God is gracious to us in our times of need, distress, or confusion. He is the Light in the Darkness, our Beacon of Hope.
Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”
How often God provides for us. Daily, He goes before, around, and behind us, without our knowledge. He is constantly at work. The Lord knows each second of our day, what every need is and will be, and how He will provide. God understands where we are weak, where we need to be weakened, and when we will humbly submit to His providential care.
Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.”
As unease began to seep into my consciousness that night, I remember thinking that fear never comes from God. My prayers immediately began, forming a wall of spiritual protection between the devil’s schemes and God’s promise as spoken in Jeremiah 1:8, which says, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.”
It is so easy for our eyes to slip from the Lord. Don’t allow it to happen. We must live with purpose, each moment, with invisible blinders on, guarding our vision, just as trainers do with horses, for example. With blinders on, our gaze is directed up, singled to, and fixed on the Lord, who is able to calm us, protect us, and comfort us. With our attention on Him, it is diverted from a world of chaos and confusion. Nothing in this world or within our spirit is able to comfort or calm. Left alone, our weak fleshly body and mind will spiral to fear, doubt, anxiety, depression, worry, or a host of other emotions. Yet, with God, we have hope. We have release. We have relief. With God, we have promise. Even if we do not feel him, He is present.
Micah 7:7 says, “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”
In order to remember and draw from His strength, we must be and stay connected. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Purpose to spend time with the Father this week.
Remain connected.
Sit with Him in prayer and reflection.
Read His word.
Let Jesus know He is a priority.
Ask Him to enable you to live the life He has purposed for you.
Watch for the quiet ways He is at work in your life.
It does not matter how busy our lives are. Excuses are easy to find. Peace, hope, joy, and love, as well as any other fruit of the Spirit, will not abide within us unless He does and we allow His mighty work within us and our life.
Make an appointment with Jesus each day. Before you realize it, you will walk with Him intimately each moment. Prayers will easily slip from your mind, heart, and lips without realizing the thoughts or words because your spirit is intertwined with His. Time with Jesus is a gift, an honor we cannot forget to embrace each day. Look for new ways to spend moments with Him today, soak in His word, apply it in your life, and allow the Lord to expose to you new ways to live with eternal perspective.
Dear Heavenly Father, our good and gracious Lord, thank you for Your help and comfort us to us. We have seen Your goodness. We watch for and hope in you. We trust that Your ears are open to our cries, calls, and pleas for help. Enable us to live in ways that show our devotion to You. Grow our walk with You so that we never leave Your presence. Grow our walk so that others will seek Your presence because of the way they see You in our lives. You are good. Help us to see You in each day and sing Your praises to those around us. May they see You in our words, actions, reactions, and in any circumstance we find ourselves in. Show us the ways You desire us to live with an eternal perspective beyond this world and help us to shine them to others through the way we embrace living with You. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Thank you for listening. If you find value in what you hear, I invite you to help others find the podcast. Please share Live With Eternal Perspective episodes with friends and family so that they can begin to listen each week.
I’m very excited to share that my second podcast, “Purposed Parent/Connected Child” will release February 3. I hope you will listen and share with friends or family who would like to choose Christ over culture and parent (or be a grandparent) who connects with eternal purpose. You can find more details on my website at terrihitt.com. Remember, if we are not purposed in knowing Jesus ourselves and showing Him to the next generation, the world will direct them away from Christ.
I pray this podcast draws you nearer to God and helps you cling to Him, despite any circumstances in your life. Until next week, keep looking Up while focusing on new ways to Live With Eternal Perspective.