Treasures Of The Darkness

Betty Heimbach

Sep 22, 2008

Heart Renderings

render, rendered, rendering: To give back, yield, to dare to give. 1 a: to melt down: extract by melting. 2 a. To transmit to another: Deliver, to furnish for consideration, approval, or information. 3. a. Restore. b. Reflect. Echo. c. To do (a service) for another. d. To give in acknowledgment of dependence or obligation. 4. To cause to be or become: Make. b. Impart. c. Depict.

I offer to you – give to you, that which has come into my life through a process of melting times. I trust God will guide me in choosing that which has been extracted through this process of melting – both in His arms as well as in His furnace of purification. I offer it to be of some service to you and to transmit or deliver that which may bring to you restoration, a reflection of Him and His love and grace and an echo of His voice. I give it in acknowledgment of my complete dependence upon Him, my total obligation to Him and in obedience to His direction. I pray that it will truly cause you to become more like Him.]

Treasures of the Darkness and Hidden Riches of Secret Places

September 13, 2008

Isaiah 45:2-3: “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who calls you by your name, Am the God of Israel.” NKJV

As most of you now know I have been through a rough time dealing with health issues among other things. Some of the time I have felt as though I was shrouded in darkness – not the pitch black darkness when you cannot see your hand in front of your face – but murky darkness – not enough light to really see what lay ahead. The kind of darkness that makes you very cautious, very careful of each step taken – not knowing where your foot may land. But also feeling hidden from view, hidden from others. So besides being very cautious, feeling alone – separated. And I must confess that during some of this time I did not recognize God’s hand in the situation. But all the while not only was God with me but He had so many of you praying for me without knowing why – and without me knowing you were praying – until you wrote.

I felt several times that I was in a secret place with God. That even though I could not understand why these things were happening. I sometimes did not understand what was happening. I felt closed in with God. I knew He was there. I could sense His presence and hear His voice – even though much of the time He was silent about what was happening. But otherwise I felt alone. I felt separated from people but hemmed in with God. It is hard to describe. In the bad times, there was the goodness of God’s presence that kept me going.

God was walking with me each step of the way. And He has continued speaking to me through all these months - teaching me, showing me things I had not seen before even when walking in the light and the brightness of His glory. He has shown me truths from a new perspective. He has been revealing to me His treasures in the darkness and the secrets of the hidden place. It is so good to know that I have been hidden with Him, in Him all the time.

One of the treasures the Lord spoke to me in the dark place is simple. It is that walking in darkness is the Christian way of life. We are to follow the Lord on the path He has set before us without knowing exactly where it will lead, without being able to see where we are going, without seeing beyond the next step. And without knowing how to get where we need to be nor what we will find when we arrive – not sure where we should be going!

He reminded me over and over of Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. I remembered that the light – the lamp that they carried with them at night only lit up the next step or two. They could not see the whole path, just the next place to put their feet. That’s what we get spiritually – light for the next couple of steps.

But just as a small child feel safe and secure in his father’s arms, walking in darkness or light because He trusts his father. He knows his father loves him and will care for him. That is exactly what we must remember. That is what kept me going all these months – being so aware of the Father’s love for me – knowing He is caring for me daily no matter how I feel or what I see! He is so good. He has a plan for me and His plan is good for me!

There is no need to fear when we are yoked to Jesus. We are able to go on, moving forward because He carries the weight of the load, He knows the direction and is leading every step. It’s only when we try to pull away, to walk another way that we begin to feel the pain and the weight of the load.

When our hand is firmly in the grasp of God, we can walk with full assurance that He will go before us and level out the way, to bring us safely to our destination – or the rest stop along the way.

I pray that no matter how dark your situation that you will trust our Heavenly Father to see what you cannot see, to carry you where you cannot go on your own, to lead you by the hand take you where you need to go. Even if you think you may be only inches away from a brick wall, or steps before a cliff - know that the Father is watching over you and all that concerns you. He is able and willing to do whatever is needed to see you get where you long to go. He is leaving His footprints for you to step in as you follow closely after Him. And there is a great new place, in this new day - right around the next turn. Keep following Him. Keep holding to His hand.