"God, if you will just get me out of this mess, I’ll..." Have you ever said those words? It may have been when you were in the military, and the shells were bursting, and you wondered whether a bullet had your name on it. It may have been when a typhoon came screaming across the South China Sea and it was heading directly for your island. It may have been when rebels were about to invade your village, murdering the elderly and children, raping and abusing the women.
Foxhole religion, they call it in the military. You know what I’m talking about. You have been there "God let’s make a deal." You’ve knelt in that little chapel at the hospital–the one with the brightly polished wood benches, flowers on the table, crucifix on the wall, a Bible on the table and that fear in your heart. You’ve shed your tears and gone through your night of darkness. Now things have turned around. The infection is gone, your marriage has come together, and your night of danger is over. Now what? Will you live as though nothing had ever happened? Or did that night of darkness change your life as God met you and brought you through your distress?
Once you have been there, there are three things that you should do:
First–Never forget that it was the Almighty who gave you deliverance. After the crisis, it is so easy to think that it was the antibiotics which went to work and gave you back your baby, or else your luck changed the situation for the better, or that things just turned around. Don’t believe it for a minute. The circumstances of your life are in God’s hands.
Second–Don’t go near the edge. If alcoholism or addiction was your darkness, give it a wide, wide berth. After Hop Hadley was delivered from alcohol, he spent the rest of his life helping men and women who struggled with that addiction. But when Hadley walked down a street and smelled alcohol coming from a bar, he would cross the street and walk on the opposite side. He didn’t trust himself. He gave himself enough space to handle the problem. When you hear an inner voice saying, "Just this once won’t count. I can handle it," rebuke that devil’s voice and cross the street.
Third–Share your testimony with those who are facing the hour of darkness. Knowing that someone else has been through it and has found God’s help gives hope and strength to those who are facing trials. Paul wrote, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Resource Reading: Psalm 73