In the darkness...I shall not be moved

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. (Psalm 16:7-8)


To everyone one of us, night seasons will come - those seasons when we cannot see the best way to move, seasons when every possible path seems fraught with difficulty, confusion, and defeat. It is in those very seasons that we must cling to the knowledge that we do not walk alone.


There is an important step that can protect us in these dark seasons of the soul, but it is a step that can only be taken before we enter them: we must make sure that we are following His lead. If during the seasons when the sun is brightly shining we have developed firm "reins" in our souls, tethering us to His purpose...if we have attuned our spirits to feel the gentlest instruction from His hands as He guides those reins, we need not fear the darkness. For in the darkness, He can guide us by those gentle touches, even as our eyes are failing. This isn't something God can do to us or for us; they are "MY" reins, and therefore they must be entered into voluntarily.


For the Christian who is truly sold out to faith and who is devoted in every way to walking the paths that Christ has intended, we know ahead of time that the darkness will come, and we know even more certainly that we must count on living much of our lives without being able to "see" His plan for us. Even when we can see, it is usually the pattern of where we have been, not where we are going. That's what faith is about: forming the reins of control, trusting the steering of the spirit, and resting in the calm assurance that He who I have placed at the right hand of my soul will keep me safe. And resting in that promise, I shall not be moved.