June 2, 2026
Tuesday, June 2
We need to train believers to walk in the dark. Because here’s what the Bible shows us:
Scholars think the book of Job is one of the oldest stories in the Bible. In the first two chapters, we read about a man who “was blameless and upright, who feared God and turned away from evil.” Yet God allowed Satan to ravage this righteous man’s life. Job lost his children, his possessions, and his bodily health. For the next 36 chapters, Job appealed to God for answers and justice. In the end, God blessed Job with more than he lost, but never answered Job’s questions.
David started life as a forgotten little brother, toiling in the sheep fields of Bethlehem. Then he was anointed by Samuel as Israel’s next King. But years passed, and mad King Saul remained on the throne. To make matters worse, David was a fugitive from the law. Then years later, after David was on the throne, his own son betrayed and overthrew him. Perhaps that’s why, when you read the Psalms of David, many are songs of complaint. For instance, consider these words from Psalm 13:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
Elijah was a fearless prophet of the Lord. One day, he took on the 450 prophets of the false god Baal, as the entire skeptical nation watched. The Lord showed up that day, fire fell from Heaven, a seven-year drought ended, and the people declared the Lord as their God. But then Jezebel, the pagan queen, put a bounty on Elijah’s head, and no one in Israel stood up for him. Elijah ran as far as his legs could take him, laid down under a broom tree, and asked the Lord to take his life.
Mary was just a young girl when she was told she was favored by God and blessed among women. But her life got harder from that point on, not easier. She gave birth far from home, then two years later, she and Joseph had to get the baby out of the country to save His life. When He was around thirty, that Son left home to be a wandering teacher who was despised by the religious leaders of their people, and then crucified by the Romans while she watched.
John the Baptist, like Elijah, was an amazingly bold prophet who stood up to an evil ruler. And like Elijah, He paid the price for his boldness. As he sat in jail, he sent word to Jesus asking, “Are you the one we expected, or should we wait for someone else?”
Paul gave up everything to follow Jesus, and went further in obedience to the Lord than anyone ever had before. But when he had a thorn in the flesh and prayed for God to take it away, God said no. Meanwhile, he was hated by both Jews and Gentiles, suffered a laundry list of trials, and was even betrayed by the very people he had trained to serve God.
I could go on. My point is the Bible is exceedingly realistic. It doesn’t promise us that faith in God leads to a carefree, blissful life. Are you convinced yet that you need to be prepared to walk in the dark? Tomorrow, we’ll examine a story that shows us the habits we need to form.
“Father, you know the stretches of darkness that loom ahead for me, the times when you and I will walk through the valley of the shadow. Prepare me now for those times, that I would stick ever closet to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
