August 22, 2018 

READ: Psalm 23:1-6 

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me (v.4).

Since ancient times, faithful Christians have spoken about what John of the Cross called the “dark night of the soul”. This “dark night” descends upon even the most faithful believers, upon those who have walked with God for years. In this dark night, believers can feel spiritually dry for unusually long periods of time, as if they’re just going through the motions of discipleship. It can feel as if God has refused to show up, as if He’s missing in action.

In the dark night, we’re afflicted by doubt. We might think that we must have done something sinful to be experiencing such dryness and darkness, so we scrape our consciences and scour our lives for sin. Yet even after we confess everything we can think of to God and other trusted believers, we feel distant from Him.

We can take comfort in knowing we’re not the only ones who’ve gone through this. We can take comfort in knowing that our feelings and sight, or lack thereof, don’t always tell us the truth about reality. That’s why Paul says, “For we live by believing and not by seeing” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

And we can take comfort in the fact that God often works deeper faith through such dark nights. When we continue to seek Him despite the darkness that envelops us, we can come to a deeper, truer understanding of who God is.

For God is in the darkest nights and valleys, as King David described in Psalm 23:4, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.” He will never leave or forsake His children (Hebrews 13:5). And as the psalmist confessed, when the Lord is our shepherd, we have all we need (Psalm 23:1). Let’s cling to that truth.

—Marlena Graves

365-day plan: Luke 18:1-14

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August 21, 2018 

READ: 1 Peter 5:6-11 

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (v.7).

It was late at night when Paul, a pastor, received the news that his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He went outside, sat on the front steps and began to pour his heart out to God. “Why is this happening to my wife?” he asked. “She’s faithful and devoted.” After struggling for a while, Paul looked up to the clear sky and, with open hands, said, “Jesus, You know. You know, and that is enough for me.”

The apostle Peter probably wrote his first letter around AD 60 to Gentile and Jewish believers scattered because of opposition to their faith in Jesus. It’s possible that some of the believers were discouraged, not understanding why terrible things were happening to them. After all, they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Although it might have been a natural response for them to ask why, Peter didn’t attempt to explain why they were enduring persecution. Instead, he brought their attention to God’s character: He’s a good Father who cares (1 Peter 5:7). Because of who God is, the believers could give Him “all [their] worries and cares”.

But this action of trusting God wasn’t to be passive. Peter also told them, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil” (v.8). Because the evil one sought to destroy their faith, they would need to rely on God’s power to “stand firm against him, and be strong in [their] faith” (v.9).

Finally, Peter reminded them that they weren’t alone in their struggles. Other believers around the world were suffering just like them. But this wasn’t the end, he assured them, because after they had “suffered a little while”, God would “restore, support and strengthen” them (v.10). May we also rest in that promise when life has us asking why.

—Estera Pirosca Escobar

365-day plan: Luke 17:20-37

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