When people tell me that they enjoy working out at the gym, my brain thinks, “Enjoy? What is wrong with you?” I have never enjoyed exercising, NEVER! I do exercise regularly because I know it is a necessary part of maintaining good health, but I am not ready to put it on my list of things I enjoy.
Recently, I hired a physical trainer named Mark to break me out of my exercise rut and push me to newer, harder levels. It is hard work, but the results are worth it. Mark turned his garage into a “gym” with lots of equipment and weights. Mark painted every wall black, put snap together black flooring down, and put a piece of green artificial turf in the middle of the floor. It looks nice, but make no mistake, it is still a torture chamber! Ok, I exaggerate!
When I arrive at Mark’s house, he opens the garage door to let me inside. Since I know that my first twenty to thirty minutes will be spent riding a bicycle, I immediately hop on the bike. Most of the time Mark is in the gym with me, but `occasionally he will come a few minutes after I have begun my bike ride.
Recently, when I arrived at Mark’s house, the door to the gym was up, so I went in and began to ride the bike. Mark will often close the gym (garage) door from inside his house, using the remote. That is usually when he comes and joins me. On this day, I hopped on the bike and was riding at a strong pace and sweating! The door stayed up a few minutes and then went down. I expected Mark any moment.
In my garage, the light from the opener stays on long enough for one to exit their vehicle, retrieve any packages, and go inside. My trainer’s garage door light works the same way. In about three minutes, the automatic light went out, and it was pitch black in the garage gym. All the walls were painted black, and the garage has no windows. It was not just dark, it was B-L-A-C-K! Since there is equipment everywhere, I could not get off the bike and walk across the area to turn on the garage light. I found myself riding with darkness all around.
There was no doubt in my mind that all would be well, and eventually Mark would show up in my darkness. According to my watch, I had been cycling twenty minutes and no sight of Mark! I called out to Mark. No answer. I called out to Mark again. No answer. After a while, I cried out loudly to Mark, and the door to the garage opened. Mark made his presence known, and light filled the darkness!
While waiting in the pitch-black darkness, what did I do? I continued doing in the dark what I had practiced in the light.
The darkness of circumstances surrounding many families is oppressive today, and it frequently seems there is no light in sight. As a nation, we are certainly experiencing increasing darkness. BUT GOD has prepared us for such as time as this. After walking with God for fifty-five years, my testimony is that God is faithful in times of light, and He is faithful in times of darkness.
While recently studying, I came upon a scripture that continues to ring in my ears and witness in my spirit. “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” – Isaiah 50:10
Faithful people of God are not exempt from experiencing times that are dark, times when we can’t seem to see any light concerning a situation. Isaiah 50:10 seems to imply that this is not a one-day thing, but that the servant of God is in a season of darkness and cannot see even a ray of light.
Isaiah 50:10 is encouraging because it is a clear reminder that God sees us when we are experiencing the dark place. No matter how dark it is, He is never unaware of our plight. Though we might not see Him, He always sees us. God clearly and concisely instructs the servant who finds themselves without a ray of light. “Trust the Lord and rely on God.”
On that pitch black day in the garage, I knew that Mark would show up at some point. I trusted him. His faithfulness all the other times gave me faith for the dark time. I knew he would hear me calling out to him. If that is true of Mark, how much truer is it of God?
Do you find yourself seeing darkness all around? Keep pedaling!