Light in the Darkness – Remembering God’s Goodness – Purity 1796
Purity 1796 10/24/2025 Purity 1796 Audio Podcast
Purity 1796 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the silhouette of trees and the first light of morning on the darkened horizon comes to us from yours truly as I captured this hopeful scene during an early morning walk up Wait Road on Sunday October 19th, 2025.
Well, it’s Friday, thank God – let’s always thank God -, and I am sharing this predawn photo to remind us that it often seems darkest just before the dawn and that even though we may be in a season where we are walking through the proverbial ‘shadow of the valley of death” because of the trials we face, we are not without hope because God is with us and He can always be counted on to be our light in the darkness, regardless of the circumstances we face.
Wednesday night, I hosted another meeting of the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church and last night I met with one of my coaching clients and in both cases I was able to shine a light of hope for the people I spoke to because I have been in the darkness of personal trials and tribulations before and can testify to the fact of God’s goodness and His faithfulness to help those who call on Him. Due to my lack of wisdom and very poor choices in life, I faced trials and challenges – like overcoming addictions, walking away from broken relationships, dealing with huge financial debts, and meeting the need to start a whole new life – that I never thought I could be free from – and believe me it didn’t happen overnight. Due to the situations, I had put myself in, I was in the “valley of the shadow of death” for quite some time throughout my journey. I was walking in the darkness with only the tiniest glimmer of hope that things would get better but I trusted in God, did what I could to turn things around, and God was faithful to move things together for good to the point where all of those troubles were resolved, all of them.
Of course, life goes on and unlike the fairytales that we are told when we are children, we do not necessarily “live happily ever after” because we still live in a world that demands our diligence and that provides new trials and challenges quite naturally. Also as we grow into the people God made us to be, the Lord reveals other aspects of our lives that could benefit from His wisdom and transformation. As we walk further into the light, we see other aspects of our lives that need to be repented of and changed. My food addiction, tendency to overeat in general, and to “stress eat” in particular remind me that I haven’t arrived yet but because of my history with the Lord, I don’t lose hope because my story reminds me that God will be faithful to help us and that the way out of the darkness of despair and hopelessness begins by just remembering how good God has been to us in the past.
My Pastor, Roscoe Lily, gave a sermon at our church not too long ago that provided the encouragement to remember that “God was faithful then, so He will be faithful now”. That message gave me hope when I heard it, and it’s giving me hope now that I’m recalling it, so I think my pastor was right. The first step toward finding freedom, peace, and joy is remembering God’s goodness. God was faithful then, so He will be faithful now – regardless of whatever new trial or challenge we will have to face.
Speaking of remembering God’s goodness, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanely devotion from Monday was entitled that, so I am sharing it on the blog today to shine a light in the darkness for those of us who may be in a “valley season”.
“Remembering God’s Goodness
How can you create reminders of God’s faithfulness in your life?
Joshua 3:14-17; Joshua 4:1-7
It’s easy to recall God’s goodness when we are receiving it. But when life gets back to “normal,” we might forget all that He did on our behalf.
Today’s verses offer a good example for us. God had brought the Israelites through the Red Sea. Now, He miraculously provided another dry path by piling up the waters of the Jordan.
The Lord knew that the people were about to enter Jericho and by His power, they would overcome the city. How compassionate to encourage them with a tangible illustration of His strength prior to battle.
But God also knew how easily they had forgotten Him. We do the same today; when the Lord works in obvious ways, it is easy to trust Him. But as time goes on, we drift until we are reminded that we need Him. So, in His love, the Father had a plan to help them recall the miracle at the river. He asked them to create an altar of 12 stones, representing each tribe that passed safely through the waters.
How can you create reminders of God’s faithfulness? Some people journal; others write words on sticky notes and leave them in noticeable places. Whatever you do, make sure you have a way to remember the Lord’s involvement in your life (Psalm 103:2).” – Charles Stanley
Amen. This message was Monday’s devotion but I didn’t choose to use it then, but I put a mark on its page after I read it to remind me that it was worth looking back to if I needed a message in the days ahead, not knowing whether I would ever use it.
This morning I read Joshua 3 in my regular Bible study and although I didn’t remember that this devotion highlighted that text something in my spirit told me to look back and use Monday’s message for today, a message that encourages us to remember God’s past faithfulness, to recall His goodness, when we drift away from our understanding of how much we need Him and to encourage us with the reminder that God can be trusted to help us in the trials we face.
I got some bad news in the mail the other day to tell me that I was going to face a significant financial burden in the very near future, something I knew about and would be responsible for but that I had avoided facing and basically forgot about all together. When I received the bad news, I was brought to the pit of frustration and despair to the point that I wished that the Lord would just kill me and take me home.
After you have overcome trials and made it to a place of peace, you would think that we would remember how God was faithful to help us but, in that moment, all I could focus on was the great cost I would have to pay and how I had failed to prepare myself for it. All I could focus on was my foolishness and how I had been living in denial about this situation to the point that I had totally forgotten about it, even though I had been literally living under it this whole time (my roof needs to be replaced – something I knew about 5 years ago when I bought the house).
In my shame and panic, all I could focus on initially was my lack – my lack of resources and planning – so I despaired, panicked, lamented, and condemned myself.
But thankfully, the Lord is with me, and after I had time to pour, react badly, and process this new trial, God reminded me of His goodness and how He has faithfully provided for me in the past and helped me to overcome even bigger challenges than the one I am facing now.
So, I made arrangements to deal with the problem by calling on the services of a faithful brother in Christ whose business handles my dilemma. Long ago God brought us together to walk together for years at my old church and now I can call on him to help me, and I get to bless him with the business. God will provide for both of us.
So don’t forget about the goodness of God and remember how He is working all things together for our good even with the burdens we would rather not face.
——————————————————————
For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
——————————————————————
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Persecution.
John 15:18–21 (ESV) If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
Today’s verses are the first of three passages of scripture that fall under the first point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Persecution.
1. Why do people persecute Christians, even when they are doing good?
Today’s Bible verses are the words of Jesus that deliver the hard truth that even though we have decided to do what is right, in following Jesus, the world will hate us for it.
This is probably one of the biggest challenges for new believers to accept. You would think that making the decision to repent of your sin and to follow the Lord would be celebrated universally by everyone but the reality of the darkness of this world that is still under the sway of the evil one quickly comes into view as we realize that not only is our decision to follow Jesus not appreciated by all, it can cause you to lose friends and gain enemies.
People’s personal sin and the influence of the kingdom of darkness will cause them to hate Christians but Jesus’s words remind us that their animosity is not because of our personal characteristics or failings, their hate comes from the fact that they don’t know God and because of this we should pray for them. They do not know the truth about reality. They don’t fully understand the consequences for their sin and separation from God, and they don’t comprehend the depths of God’s love for us.
So even though people may hate us because we follow Jesus, lets follow our Lord’s example and pray that they would be forgiven and that God would move them to see the truth and be saved.
———————————————————–
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 295
There, I see the heavens opened up, and the Son of Man standing … – Acts 7:56
At those words, they picked up stones to kill Stephen. Dying, he prayed that their act might not be held against them. What Christian grace! Saul, who became the apostle Paul, stood by watching and holding their clothes and heard the prayer; God answered it affirmatively. What a blessing God gave Stephen! As the first to be killed for Christ, God allowed Stephen to see Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand. Notice, he used the designation, “Son of Man,” which Daniel had also used when he spoke of Jesus’ coming to receive the kingdom from the Father. Some have thought that Jesus was seen standing, rather than sitting, on this occasion to show Stephen that He was ready and available to give him strength to bear the pain and suffering. Be that as it may, Jesus was surely attentive to what was happening, just as He has always been to the plight of His suffering children ever since, though now He is unseen. Stephen is the first of a long line of martyrs to whom God promised a throne (Revelation 20:4).[1]
The MT4Christ247 audio podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartradio, Podbean, Audible, and many more podcast platforms!
Subscribe to The MT4Christ247 Channel on YouTube!
Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, or comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Support MT 4 Christ Community Freedom Ministry!
To Give via Pay Pal Go to the MT4Christ Donations Page
Or Give Via Venmo or the Cash App by scanning the QR Code below:
[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 303.
Leave a Reply