1 JOHN 1:5

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

TO PONDER

Betrayal is a universal human experience. Sure, people might experience it to varying degrees, but everyone experiences it in some form or another during their lifetime. Perhaps it is as small as the disappointment we feel when someone fails to come through with a task or favour at work or when a friend reschedules a catch-up in preference for some other commitment or opportunity. We tend to get over those minor betrayals fairly quickly. However, the breaking of marriage vows, major moral failures in our trusted leaders and professionals and the breaking of trust (and sometimes abuse) of those who are supposed to care most about us can be really debilitating experiences.

Sometimes we can feel like God has betrayed us when we find ourselves in the darkest parts of our lives. Perhaps we blame God for the loss of a loved one; maybe we blame God for the loss of income or property amid natural disasters like fires or floods? The number of ways that we can think God has let us down or betrayed our trust are as varied as we are. However, Here in 1 John, we hear that God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. No deceit, no malice or hard feelings.

So what then are we to do when we feel betrayed or abandoned by God? The answer is easy to say but hard to do. At those times we feel most abandoned and betrayed by God is when we most need to call out to Him. The people if Israel did it in Egypt and then later in Babylonian exile, Job did it, most of the psalmist did it, many of the Old Testament prophets did it, the writer of Lamentations did it. God promises to be with us and bring light to our darkness. When things are their darkest is when we need his light the most.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, in the beginning you said, "let there be light" and light appeared. Would you bring your light into the dark places of my life and help me to trust that when I feel like all hope is lost and I feel most alone, that you will always be available to bring your light back into my life and make that light shine through me into the world.

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.