The Discipline of Heeding
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Matthew 10:27 ESV
At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God’s hand until we learn to hear Him. “What I tell you in darkness”—watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there, keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet. If you open your mouth in the dark, you will talk in the wrong mood: darkness is the time to listen. Don’t talk to other people about it; don’t read books to find out the reason of the darkness, but listen and heed. If you talk to other people, you cannot hear what God is saying. When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.
After every time of darkness there comes a mixture of delight and humiliation (if there is delight only, I question whether we have heard God at all), delight in hearing God speak, but chiefly humiliation—“What a long time I was in hearing that! How slow I have been in understanding that! And yet God has been saying it all these days and weeks.” Now He gives you the gift of humiliation which brings the softness of heart that will always listen to God now.
Chambers, Oswald (2011-05-01). My Utmost for His Highest, Classic Edition (p. 32). Discovery House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 tells us there is a season for all things: birth and death, tears and laughter, war and peace. Also in that list is a time to speak and a time to be quiet.
Chambers points out that one of those times for silence is when we are in a dark place. That darkness can be in "your circumstances, or in your life with God." All too often when I am in a dark place I will seek the counsel of others and unload. Is the purpose of this truly cathartic or a "holy excuse" to bemoan my situation or talk down another? When I do approach another for counsel during these dark times, I usually get more riled up after having talked about the situation.
Isaiah tells us that Jesus will be called "Wonderful Counselor." Isaiah 9:6 What need have we of a human gripe session if the most Wonderful Counselor is but a prayer away? Why choose a fleeting friend, and all friends are fleeting, when the "friend that sticks closer than a brother" resides within? Proverbs 18:24
There are times when godly counsel should be sought, when another set of eyes on a problem or decision would be advantageous. But be judicious in those times. Strive to keep those times productive, not destructive. Only seek out human insight after you have listened, prayed, and cried out in the darkness to the Wonderful Counselor. If He is not able to calm, correct, or direct, what hope have we that another could do any better?
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