The Darkest Time

The Darkest Time

By Apostle Felix

4  Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.

Psalm 23: 4

I believe you have been through a dark period in your life. Everyone has. Life does not exempt anyone from such seasons of dark moments. Those are moments one feels like is drowning in the dark season and there is no way out. It is not a nice place to be in. A place where you are all alone, and all looks like is working against you. You pray and fast, and yet nothing seems to be changing. You cry out to God and God appears to be far and distant. Believers call these hellish seasons ‘dark times.’

 20  And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 

Genesis 39: 20

Joseph, the son of Jacob is one of the Biblical figures that went through dark times on false accusation and betrayal. He did not go through that dark season because he sinned or did anything wrong. No, it was just because of his dream of saving his family. He had to be sold into a foreign land and as a slave a young man because of the dream he had. He did not commit any crime. He was sent to jail because he chose not to compromise by sleeping with his master’s wife. The choice he made landed him in prison. Joseph had options, compromise and escape prison but yet forfeit his dream or refuse to compromise and go to jail and see the fulfillment of his dream.

Dark seasons can be unbearable but those are seasons that lead to an overflow. Jesus is our classic example. He went through the darkest period of His life on earth. He was arrested and accused of things He had not done, though He was found innocent, they crucified Him. They inflicted pain on Him, and His own people gave Him to the Romans to be crucified. His own rejected Him. The physical and emotional pain was unbearable. Since He became sin, God the Father turned His back on His Son. That was the darkest hour.

6  They have discarded me and thrown me down into the deepest darkness as into a bottomless pit.
7  I feel your wrath and it’s a heavy weight upon me, drowning me beneath a sea of sorrow. 

Psalm 88: 6, 7

Jesus descended in the darkest place, the place of the dead for the reason of taking man’s punishment on Himself. He did not deserve the dark time but He had to do it so that you and me should never have to go to the outer darkness. He remained in the outer darkness for three days and on the third day, rose from the dead as a victorious king.

27  because you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor will you allow your sacred one to experience decay.

Acts 2: 27

9  He “ascended” means that he returned to heaven, after he had first descended from the heights of heaven, even descending as far as the lowest parts of the earth. 

Ephesians 4: 9

Jesus went through the valley of the shadow of death. However, Jesus was conscious of the reason why He was going through such a dark moment of His life. He knew that though it seemed as though God, the Father had rejected Him, He was there with Him. He knew that God, the Father was fully involved in what He was going through. His rod and staff was guiding Him though. He was very conscious of the fact that He will rise from the dead because the Father had prepared a table before Him in the presence of His enemies. His resurrection was a public proclamation of defeat of all powers of darkness. Jesus rose from the dead and mercy has followed many thereafter. He was the only begotten Son before the resurrection but He became the first born from the dead after the resurrection. He is the prototype of who we should be. Praise the Lord! Since He rose from the dead, we have received life and life more abundantly, and overflowing life. His dark time has paid off immensely.