Faith in the Night Seasons – Understanding God’s Will
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| By: Nancy Missler; ©1999 |
| In the preface to the above titled book Chuck Missler writes that it is “about having faith in God when our lives and everything around us appears to be crumbling and falling apart. How do we have faith and trust in God then?” |
Faith in the Night Seasons – Understanding God’s Will
Preface
This is a story about faith—faith in the “night seasons.” It’s about having faith in God when our lives and everything around us appears to be crumbling and falling apart. How do we have faith and trust in God then?
God is working out His perfect will into the tapestry of each of our lives, and even though we might not fully comprehend what He is doing, we must trust His skill as the Master Craftsman. Father, indeed, knows best. The question is, do we really trust Him? Sometimes it seems that He finds a new way to ask us that question every day.
God’s will for each of us is not only doing what He asks, but also accepting, with praise and thanksgiving, all that He allows. God alone holds the final piece to our puzzle, and only He knows “the end from the beginning.”
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NRS)
This book will attempt to discern what the Scripture says is God’s will. Not only His will in the “good” times, but also His will in our dark times. Understanding God’s will in these night seasons will help give us the faith we need to get through them. If we understand what God is trying to accomplish in each of our lives, then it will be easier to weather the storms.
If we don’t understand what God is doing, we will either fall away and lose our faith in the darkness, or we will end up frustrated and defeated as we try to battle harsh events in our own strength. As Hosea says, “The people who do not understand will fall.” (4:14)
It is certainly true: a lack of understanding leads to confusion and doubt. And doubt will affect everything we think, say and do. Let’s remember, faith is not “believing in spite of the evidence”; faith is obeying in spite of the consequences.
Prayerfully, this will help us to learn to see through the darkness with sanctified eyes, to have the boldness to enter God’s presence and the faith to remain there, regardless of what is going on around us.
In the coming months we will explore (with many personal stories and much practical application): what God’s will is; what true faith is; what the night seasons are; why God allows them; what He is accomplishing through them; and finally, but most importantly, what are some of the incredible blessings that come because of them.
Love, joy and peace do not come from the absence of trials, but simply from the presence of Jesus.
“I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear:but now mine eye seeth Thee.” (Job 42:5)The Eagle Story
Someone once told me a story about a wounded eaglet who was rescued by a kindly farmer. He found the bird in one of his fields, and so took him home, tended to his wounds, and then placed him outside in the barnyard to recover.
Strangely enough, the young eaglet soon adapted to the habits of all the barnyard chickens. He learned to walk and cluck like them. He learned to drink from a trough and peck the dirt for food, and for many years he peacefully resigned himself to this new life on the ground.
But then one day, one of the farmer’s friends spotted the eagle and asked, “Why in the world is that bird acting like a chicken?” The farmer told him what had happened, yet the man could hardly accept the situation.
“It’s just not right,” said the friend. “The Creator made that bird to soar in the heavens, not scavenge in the barnyard!” So he picked up the unsuspecting eagle, climbed onto a nearby fence post, and tossed him into the air. But the confused bird just fell back to earth and scurried off in search of his feathered friends.
Undaunted, the man then grabbed the eagle and climbed to the top of the barn. As he heaved him off the roof, the bird made a few halfhearted squawks and flaps before falling into a bale of hay. After shaking his head a few times, the eagle then made himself comfortable and began mindlessly pecking at pieces of straw.
The friend went home that night dejected, and could barely sleep as he remembered the sight of those powerful talons caked with barnyard mud. He couldn’t bear the thought, so the very next day, he headed back to the farm for another try. This time he carried the eagle to the top of a nearby mountain where the sky unfolded in a limitless horizon.
He looked into the eagle’s eyes and cried out, “Don’t you understand? You weren’t made to live like a chicken! Why would you want to stay down here when you were born for the sky?” As the man held the confused bird aloft, he made sure the eagle was facing into the brilliant light of the setting sun. Then he powerfully heaved the bird into the sky, and this time the eagle opened his wings, looked at the sun, caught the updraft rising from the valley, and disappeared into the clouds of heaven. (Story written by Claudia Lovejoy, 1998)
Do you know that we, too, were born for the sky? The Lord has called us to live in the heights, yet too many of us have huddled together in the barnyard, contentedly scurrying for the safety of our families, our finances, our careers and our comfortable crumbs of faith.
This book is dedicated to all those believers whose barnyards have been destroyed, and to the faithful ones who have walked, or are now walking in darkness. The hour is late, beloved friends. It is not time to mourn our losses, but rather time to set our eyes upon heaven, spread our wings and fly straight toward the Son.
Never mind weariness, illness, lack of feeling, irritability, exhaustion, snares of the devil, jealousy and prejudice. Let us soar together, like an eagle above the clouds, with our eyes fixed on the Son. This is why the eagle is such a perfect example of this freedom. An eagle is the only bird that has a special third-eye-lens that enables him to look at and fly directly towards the sun and thus, frees him from his enemies as they try to follow. (From a tape by James Payne, Oak Park Church, Hermitage, TN, 1997) No other bird has this ability. And, it’s the same with us. Only as we keep our eyes focused directly on the Son during our ascent to Him, will we ever become free—free from our emotions, free from our circumstances, free from other people’s responses and free from the enemy’s attacks. (Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:11)
Having Faith in the Night Seasons is the only answer to possessing this overcoming victory.
