Treasures of Darkness

“I will give you the treasures of

darkness, riches stored in secret

places.”         Isaiah 45:3 

I love lace. I am fascinated by the single thread that becomes a beautiful intricate crafted design when passed through the fingers of a skillful spinner. In Brussels, the spinner sits alone in a room with one small window that allows a single shaft of light to fall only on the work as it leaves the distaff and becomes a piece of finely spun art. It is said that the spinners rely upon the feel of the thread as it passes through their fingers because it is fine enough to almost escape their eyes—treasures stored in secret places.

Today many of us are facing dark times. Perhaps financial instability brought on by our current economy has shaken your hopes for the future. You may have a loved one who is ill, and you are afraid of what the outcome might be. Maybe you are ill and afraid. It could be that someone close to you has suffered a great loss and you are not sure about how to comfort them. The scenarios for darkness and pain in this life can stretch to infinity as they change with the winds of adversity.

But, I have good news. God has treasures stored in secret places. He has a plan for His children. Sometimes life becomes dark because we see only the fine thread of our current situation. Sometimes the thread appears black and ugly and we cannot see the light. Sometimes, when prayers seem to go unanswered, we feel there is no hope.

The good news—God is the Master Spinner. While we may see only the blackness—the hard to understand events in our lives—God is spinning threads of gold. His storehouse of goodness is overflowing, and while we may not yet see the finished product, those golden threads shimmer in the light of His love and care for us.

So remember, when things look dark, when you do not understand, when you think God has forgotten your name or when the pain of your hurt seems unbearable—God has not forgotten you. You are passing through the skillful fingers of a Master Craftsman, and He is weaving with threads from his “riches stored in secret places”. Go forward in love and faith and one day, when you look back and see the completed work, you will see the golden thread of God’s goodness woven throughout His Masterpiece.

©Joyce Powell