Truth is true in the dark and the light

Alas, I do not remember from whom I first learned this truth, "Never doubt in the dark what God taught you in the light." The ups and downs, the lights and darks of life are rhythmic. But, the darks and downs seem to last longer, and seem more intense than the lights and ups!

Do others share my feeling that cheap shots coming out of nowhere are unexpected and undeserved? Diseases, disappointments and defeats accumulate. The stunning blow of one is still dazing and confusing thoughts and challenging faith when another stinging blow rattles the senses.

It is hard to focus on Peter’s assurances to fellow saints.
"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 2:16-21)
But, we must! "The word of the prophets made more certain" is as true in the darks and downs as in the brilliant light of a well-reached sermon, the dazzling ups of an altar where one meets face to face, mind to mind, heart to heart and spirit to Spirit with the Living God.

The Word of God is the stabilizing ballast of life. A well-intentioned line in a note can become twisted because of the pressures of the darks and downs the reader is experiencing. Truth can be sucked under in the sea of suspicion and darkness may grab the light of truth and hold it hatefully hostage. But, the truth of God’s Word buried deep into the mind and spirit remembers the truth learned in the light and allows one to maintain his balance when the unanticipated blows come from every direction.

I remember a childhood song. It came to me this morning as I was awakened by a staggering blow to the spiritual solar plexus. It came while a dark reality tried to hijack light. A personal down attempted to destroy every remembrance of the wonderful ups accumulated through the years, when lies harshly judged truth. The "word of the prophets made more certain" came riding on the wings of a long familiar melody.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Edward Mote penned those words in the 1830's! People passing through darks and downs have been singing them ever since! Sing along friends! The "word of the prophets made more certain" equips us to keep our balance, survive the unexpected and undeserved.