Blackout
By Virginia Brandt Berg
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I was thinking how wonderful it will be when earth’s shadows flee away and heaven bursts upon us with all its glory and light—darkness forever gone!
When I was listening to the news report of the blackout in the New York area,1 there were a couple of remarks made by those who were there which struck me forcibly. One man said he could never express the feelings he had when the lights suddenly flashed on, lights that he had always taken for granted and had never really been thankful for before.
It made me think of some of the letters I have received which tell of personal blackouts, times of severe illness when it seemed that you would never recover, but one day deliverance came and you were well again. How glorious it was to be out of the darkness and into the light once more, free from pain and sickness!
Only those who have been through such blackouts know how glorious it is when the lights come on again! I want to assure you that the lights will come on again if you do not waver, but hold on to promises from God’s Word, and trust God implicitly in the darkness.
When there is darkness, the thing that makes it blacker is the thought that you may never come out of it. Of course, this is where the Christian has such a great advantage. For he has faith, and he knows the day will come when God will send deliverance!
Faith is the victory. It was pretty dark for Paul when he was in jail, but he had such faith that he was able to live above his circumstances and conditions, so much so that he wrote in Philippians 4:11–13:
“Do not think that I am saying this under the pressure of want. For I, however I am placed, have learned to be independent of circumstances. I know how to face humble circumstances, and I know how to face prosperity. Into all and every human experience I have been initiated—into plenty and hunger, into prosperity and want. I can do everything in the strength of Him who makes me strong!”2
Paul’s attitude did not change according to circumstances. The joy of the Lord was his strength.3 Even in jail, he continued to live above his circumstances. That is why in Philippians 1:12 and 13 he says, “But I would that ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest even in the palace, and in all other places.” Just think of the influence he had in that jail, that unbelieving place!
These personal “blackouts” of ours are such marvelous opportunities to show the world that our joy and our feeling of security don’t depend on natural conditions and circumstances. Billy Bray, the famous Cornish miner, one day went out to his garden to hoe potatoes. He said he heard Satan say, “Now Billy, isn’t that mighty poor pay for your serving your Father the way you have all those years? Just look at those little runty potatoes!” Billy replied, “Ha, ha, Satan. You’re at it again, talking against my heavenly Father, bless His name! Why, when I served you, I didn’t get any potatoes at all!”
And Billy just continued to hoe and loudly praise the Father for the little runty potatoes. Billy Bray was like Paul; he was an immovable Christian. Satan couldn’t move him; circumstances couldn’t move him away from his love for his Father and his trust in His faithfulness.
No wonder Paul could say, “None of these things move me,”4 and that was Billy Bray’s attitude. I’m sure there were dedicated Christians in the recent blackout that felt that way. The blackness didn’t strike terror into their hearts nor take from them their feeling of security. They had an inner source of strength that was above all circumstance.
That is why Paul could write: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”5
There is an old saying, “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!” When Paul came to the end of his rope, he claimed a promise and held on.
God has given us so many wonderful promises to hang on to, and they can shine like stars in your blackout. That’s another thing that someone said who had gone through the blackout. They said the thing that impressed them most during the blackout was that they could see the stars. It had been such a long time in New York since anybody had seen the stars!
I know there are those reading this who are passing through a dark place right now. Here are a few “stars” to help you. They’re from God’s precious Word. Listen carefully and claim them.
“O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”6
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”7
“Verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”8
“Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.”9
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and they are safe.”10
“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.”11
These promises are the stars that can shine in the Christian’s blackout. What a wonderful feeling when we are in the darkness that we can know that God is there! He’s right there with us; we know He’s there, and we have nothing to fear.
I thought this was such a precious little poem:
A little child lay in the dark
The room was strange, he saw nowhere.
He was afraid; but then he called,
“Father, are you there?”
He felt a hand, so strong and warm,
Close clasping his, then calm and clear
He heard his father’s tender voice,
“Yes, laddie, I am here!”
Like that small child, we sometimes feel
That we are in the dark of care;
In terror of some harm, we call,
“O Father, are You there?”
We reach our hand to Him and find,
A blessed answer to our fear;
His hand holds ours, we hear His voice,
“Fear not, for I am here.”
So, though we tremble in the dark,
In need of strength and help and cheer,
We have a tender Father’s word,
“Fear not, for I am here!”12
With the dark trials we face day by day, we need to remember that God is with us and He is preparing us for victory and for greater trials when they come. Today’s trials are a dress rehearsal that show us how we would react in some really great tragedy. But if we can live above these trials of everyday life and get the victory here, we will be ready for any big blackout that comes.
God’s Word says, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”13—Grace that gives you power to bravely bear the trial without complaining, grace to fully rest in God’s power and trust Him.
From a transcript of a Meditation Moments broadcast, adapted.
Published on Anchor September 2021. Read by Carol Andrews.
1 This radio program was recorded in 1965 and refers to the blackout of 1965 that “left about 30 million people in 80,000 square miles without power for up to 12 hours. Up to then it was the largest power failure in history and it struck at the evening rush hour. More than 800,000 riders were trapped in the city's subways.”
2 20th Century New Testament.
3 Nehemiah 8:10.
4 Acts 20:24.
5 2 Corinthians 4:8–11.
6 Psalm 34:9,10,19,7.
7 John 14:12,14.
8 Matthew 17:20.
9 Psalm 103:3.
10 Proverbs 18:10.
11 Psalm 9:9.
12 “Father, Are You There?” by Dinnie McDole Hayes.
13 2 Corinthians 12:9.
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