It s when things are dim, that spiritual life mushrooms. God s saints accomplish great things while staggering around in dazed bewilderment. I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, said Paul, not knowing the things that shall befall me there. The disciples were frequently stunned or mystified by Christ s words and behaviour. And in the midst of his suffering, Job didn t have a clue what was going on.
Dark mysteries bring great blessings.
At the close of the year that saw the death of his newborn son and then the death of his wife and then assaults on his own health, Hudson Taylor wrote, This was the most sorrowful and most blessed year of my life. When it s sunny we want to run off and play. It s when it s darkest that we hold Father s hand the tightest. In the gloom, qualities like faith, grit, and dedication, are stretched to limits we have never before reached. Yet life seems so oppressive we are oblivious to our triumphs.