Isaiah 59:12

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."

Friday, July 29, 2011

Why God Made Darkness

This is a thought I've wrestled with for some time now. Why did God make darkness?

Isn't darkness evil? Doesn't Satan operate in darkness? Doesn't the Bible say that in Jesus there is no darkness at all?


But in the Word's account of creation, the Bible is very clear: God created darkness: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night..." -Genesis 1:5 (See also Psalms 104:20; Isaiah 45:7). In 1 Kings 8:12, when Solomon finally made the temple of the Lord, God told him that "he would dwell in thick darkness."

Great. So God made darkness? Why?

I think it's first important to understand something about Satan. Satan HAS NO POWER to create. He has only the ability to twist things that God has created. The Lord created the tree of knowledge of good and evil for a perfect purpose within his perfect timing. Satan had to twist God's Word about this tree in order to get man to sin in the first place. The tree itself was not evil, but Satan used it in a way and time God did not appoint, thereby making it sin, making it evil.

I'm going to be so bold to say the same thing about darkness. Now, there's quite a few beliefs about what was going on at the very, very beginning of creation - and many people believe that there is a gap between verse one and verse two of Genesis one in which Satan rebelled against God. Let's pretend this is absolute fact for a moment, though my point does not depend on this being true. But let's say, hypothetically, that in verse one EVERYTHING is in darkness because God says that He dwells in the midst of darkness because he is the only light eternity needs. However, Satan misuses this darkness - maybe trying to use his own light (Lucifer meaning light-bearer) to be a light in the midst of the darkness God created for himself - and gets himself cast out of heaven. Now, all of this is totally hypothetical. But somewhere in there, Satan MISUSED God's darkness, Satan TWISTED God's darkness, and immediately places a negative connotation on darkness for mankind to wrestle with for eternity.

And what a brilliant strategy for Satan to use! If God indeed dwells in darkness, he would want all of creation to be terrified of darkness and use it for Satanic worship - that way, no one ever finds the habitation of the Lord! Remember, Satan twists what God creates, if God makes something perfect, Satan makes it evil. God made marriage holy, Satan made sex taboo; God made plants and animals, Satan twists it to junk food and drugs; God made water a picture of life, while Satan has used it as a means of death! My guess, is that if Satan is trying to make darkness SO evil, it must be really important for the purposes of God.

So now that this is established, look at Psalms 18:11, "He made darkness his secret place." The Lord dwells in darkness! Darkness is his secret place! The Jewish word for "Night" literally means "a wrapping" - as if God is wrapping something up within this darkness that is waiting for mankind to discover and walk in.



So let's slow down, and let's examine what I consider one of the most powerful passages in scripture - Psalms 18:28-31: "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?"


Now, another important Biblical concept to understand about the nature of God is that if we have received the Spirit of the LORD then we will be MOVING with God. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:2, at the first mention of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit was moving over the face of the deep. And he's still moving today! John 7:38 tells us that he who receives the Spirit of the Lord will have streams of living water flowing out of his belly! The Lord does not want you to receive his Spirit and his blessings and then sit still! Receiving the Spirit of the Lord and follow him!

Another truth about the Holy Spirit. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will ALWAYS be exalting one another by the things they move us to do, say, and believe. If what you have in your life does not exalt the Godhead, then something is horribly wrong. And let me promise you this, if the Holy Spirit is in your life, and it is moving you like it should be, then the Holy Spirit of God will move you straight into the darkness so that you can move into the habitation of God and experience the blessings of the secret place of the LORD!

So why does the LORD use darkness? Why do we have to go there in order to experience the blessings of the secret place of God? Why on earth did the LORD CHOSE darkness for his habitation?

Psalms 18:28 tells us that the Lord will first "light my candle." When examining the Jewish words the Psalmist chose to use in this passage, we can see the hand of the Lord writing through David in a very powerful way. The word "light" has a literal connotation with another Greek word that brings out a full meaning that says, "to kindle an understanding." And the word "candle" literally comes from two Jewish words meaning "Fire and plow." So what God is saying in this first thought, is that he wants to lead you into the darkness, into his secret place, where he will light your candle, or "kindle an understanding of God's divine purposes to put fire in your spirit and reveal his purposes for your life in his field!" Why do we meet God in the secret place? To gain understanding! Why do we gain understanding? So that we can have fire in our hearts that spreads out into the field the LORD would have us plow while on this earth!

The Lord continues these amazing promises about the secret place:
"God will enlighten my darkness:" Literally, God will spread out (Hebrew, diaspora) the discoveries of his secret place. What does Paul tell the Corinthians? "Comfort one another with the comfort you have received." When you enter the secret place of the Lord and press into his presence via the darkness he is wrapped in, he will use that time in your life to influence others around you to press through the darkness in their lives as well!
"I have run though a troop:" When you enter into that darkness, Satan DOES NOT want you to be there! He will attack you in every way possible because he knows you are entering into the habitation of the Lord. So he will attack you, he will bring confusion, disorder, and blindness - but God promises us VICTORY over the troop, literally "attacks and invasions," the enemy will send after us.
"I have leaped over a wall:" Literally, I have leaped or rejoiced over a wall or lamentation. Satan will set up walls of despair and depression for us in the midst of darkness, but God promises us that we can, through him, rejoice in the midst of that dark place and move over that lamentation to reach the secret place of our God!

All of this said, it is imperative that we trust God in the mist of darkness. What does Satan say about darkness? They are times of despair, depression, distress, blindness, and confusion. But what does God say? That in the darkness, the habitation of the Lord, we will find joy, direction, comfort, victory, sight, and understanding! The Bible says, "God is not the author of confusion." He DID NOT create the darkness to confuse us, but to give us understanding. He "has not given us a spirit of fear," instead, he created the darkness for us to experience his spirit of "power, love and a sound mind."

So, practically, if you find yourself in a season of darkness and confusion - remember why God created it, and hold fast to verse thirty. "As for God, his way is perfect." That means that it's complete. Jesus said "be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world," the epistles record "greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world" - God has already, which means he will, which means he is, which means it is inevitable that He will complete his purposes in your life and his Will will be accomplished on this earth -- just trust Him! The Bible goes on to say "the word of the Lord is tried" - that word "tried" means "already put to the test!" There's no testing of God's words - Satan tempted Jesus to test God's word and to tempt the Almighty! Why? Jesus understood God was taking him to a place where he needed to depend only on the power of God the Father to bring him out. Lucifer wanted Jesus to lose faith and test God to see if He will do what He promised He will do outside of the Father's perfect timing. But Jesus kept faith that God will complete his Word within the timing He had planned, and that he would be FAITHFUL!

One last thought: "He is a buckler to all those that trust in him." That word "buckler" or "shield" is where the Jews got the name "Ananias"or better known as "Shadrach." Shadrach was one of Daniel's three friends that would not bow down to the statue of the King of Babylon. Because of this, the king had them thrown into a fiery furnace. I promise you this - Shadrach didn't know what to expect, he probably thought death was inevitable - but he stood on the promises of God, he walked in the ways of the Lord, he believed Psalms 18:36, "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip," and even in the midst of uncertain times, he allowed the Spirit of the Lord to move him into the midst of the fire!

Here's a random fact, the middle of the fire is the DARKEST place in the world. All the oxygen is sucked out of the air, and no light remains - that is why firemen have lights. So in the midst of the most extreme darkness in the hottest fire, Shadrach and his two buddies were encountered with another being: Jesus Christ. Who FAITHFULLY met them in the secret place of the Lord! He was their shield! His plans were going to be completed! He ran through the midst of attack! He gave them joy over lamentations! He brought them direction and purpose in the midst of the most confusing times they had probably ever faced! And the King of Babylon knew it too. He brought them back out of the furnace totally unharmed, he was humbled before them and in awe of their God, and he recognized Psalms 18:31: "For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?"

The three friends thrown into a furnace took what they encountered in the secret place where they met Jesus, they spoke the truth of what they learned to the King of Babylon, and the King of Babylon made a decree that the God of Israel should be worshiped because of his faithfulness and power shown to these three men! Hallelujah!

Let me tell you the truth, God will lead you straight into the darkness in order to teach you how to trust Him and to encounter you in his secret place. The darkness is not evil, but Satan will attack you in the midst of it, just trust in the provision of the Lord and keep running hard after Him. He will both encounter you and lead you out so that you can proclaim his faithfulness to the World. Amen.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Uganda Follow-up


Dearest Brothers and Sisters,

First, thank you for your support to the ministry in Uganda this past summer. Truly, none of the ministry that was done could have been possible without the prayers and support of those back home. I'm writing this follow-up letter to share about the amazing things the Lord did while my team and I were in Uganda and also to share a little about my hopes for future ministry in the country over the next couple of years.

Our mission team consisted of myself and two friends of mine that serve as pioneers within the house church movement in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We left from Chicago on Sunday, June 26th and spent the next day-and-a-half traveling through Amsterdam, Kenya, and then finally reaching Entebbe, Uganda late Monday night. Praise the Lord! Traveling went smoother than we could have imagined with no significant delays or mishaps.

Tuesday, June 27th was spent in Entebbe working with Abba House, the House of Friends Orphanage. My team and I were able to create new profiles for the orphans in order to help them receive American sponsors, analyze the property and find the areas that need further work, and spend lots of time simply loving on the orphans. One of my favorite stories from the orphanage was when I had the opportunity to tell these little African kids about some American orphans I work with back here in the United States. I told them how one of these little American girls took it upon herself to spend time praying for the orphans I'd be with in Uganda. Upon hearing this, the orphans at Abba House immediately decided to go into prayer for the orphans back in America – even going so far as to start writing them encouraging letters. This experience alone was worth the entire time it took traveling to Uganda.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent ministering in a small village in central Uganda called Katogwe. They held a small church conference in the village church where we were able to preach and minister to over 100 people from surrounding villages. Some incredible testimonies erupted from our preaching in Katogwe including: a miracle where two children were healed from a disease and a few messages that brought many people into finding freedom from spiritual bondage that had squandered their Christian life. The ministry impact left on the village significantly effected the people as they continued preaching, praying, and praising for hours more even after we left Thursday afternoon.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all spent in Entebbe resting, preparing to go to Northern Uganda, preaching in local churches, traveling to crusades, and spending more time with the orphans at Abba House. Many of the sermons our team brought to the people of Entebbe involved the idea of setting in motion the principles of evangelism and mission work the people of Uganda so strongly believe in. We encouraged them to travel north – taking the gospel to the unreached people groups of Northern Uganda and Sudan. For the most part, our messages were readily received and the Word of God moved upon hearts bringing about His transformation in their lives.

Early Monday morning, we set out for the two day journey that would be the main goal and highlight of the trip. Our team traveled to Northern Uganda and visited a village called Adilang in the Poder district. Situated about 60 miles south of Sudan, 90 miles east of Kenya, and 10 miles from the warlike Karamojong natives of northern Uganda, Adilang remains an opportune place to start doing ministry. We connected with a Pastor named Peter, who welcomed us into his home, village, and church and allowed us to speak to the people of the area our vision for what God may want to do in Adilang. The Lord opened miraculous doors that allowed us to minister to victims of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army, to make connections and encourage many local pastors, and even to sit down with the chairman of the province and talk about our desire to work in Northern Uganda longterm.
After everything was said and done, the people were so greatly filled with encouragement that they worshipped for another six hours after we left. The government is also very open to us coming in order to build an orphanage and do other forms of ministry with this people group situated in Northern Uganda. Adilang is a city in great need – with over 50 orphans, 500 fatherless kids, and countless amounts of starving, diseased, and dying people. Because of the recent wars that have transpired, many people are very broken and the church is lacking motivation and influence among the people in the area. Many of the local population is still heavily involved in witchcraft, believing the church has no power to help them after the devastations of Joseph Kony. It appears that the Lord has opened an incredible door of ministry for us to be able to go back to Northern Uganda and start working with these people to reach this dark, unreached area for Christ.

The remaining Wednesday-Friday of our trip was spent preaching in churches in Entebbe and recovering from the labor of working in the North. Again, the Lord opened mighty doors for us to preach about the movement of the gospel and about the importance of true community. One pastor that heard us speak on Wednesday was so moved by the message, he spent the rest of the week following our team around and asking us questions about the Bible and about life.

I have been so blessed to experience the wonderful works of God in Uganda. Two pages cannot even begin to capture the extent of what God accomplished in Uganda – or in the hearts of us who worked with the people there. I would love to answer any questions or speak with you in person about the trip and about what the next steps are to continuing the Lord's work in Northern Uganda. Feel free to email me at joshhulme@sbcglobal.net or to send a letter to:

5800 Northern Avenue
Raytown, MO 64133

May God sincerely bless you in everything you have done to support the ministry that took place in Uganda, for your prayers, and for you financial sacrifices. The investments you have made will have an eternal impact for the Kingdom of the Lord.

With much love,

~Josh Hulme