THE DARK ROOM OF LIFE
I want us to begin this practical message by taking some important prayer points.
1. Every war, waged against my staff of bread, receive double disgrace, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every satanic hunter of my career, receive double confusion, in the name of Jesus.
3. Any power, hiding the key of my promotion, loose your hold, in the name of Jesus.
Life is filled with a lot of situations that defy human understanding. Many people who have tried to unravel the inexplicable riddles of life, come to the conclusion that there are many things which man will never understand in life. Thus, more and more people are crying that there are many experiences that can be referred to as the dark room of life. There are many things in life that have left many people dazed, bound and confused. These situations and experiences have left intellectuals, rich people, successful businessmen and women and even celebrities completely tired and frustrated.
Many people who have succeeded in some areas of life have wondered why seemingly insignificant situations have turned them to nonentities. I have often wondered why a lot of big names in the society have had to grapple with knotty life situations. Much more surprising is the fact that respected researches and highly professional men and women have been disgraced on ideology.
Despite many concepts, values and principles, people have never disagreed that many situations in life are beyond human understanding. That is why; the agnostic as well as the religious have bigots who are confused in their search for solutions to life’s problems.
NIGHT EXPERIENCES
The Bible says, For his anger endureth but a moment: in his favour is life. Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Here, the Bible provides a brilliant and true to life answer to the problems which men and women go through.
• The reference to the word ‘night’ in that passage tells us that there is a night in the life of every mortal. Men and women go through what can be likened to the ‘night’.
We are all familiar with the fact that life is made of nights and days. There are light and activities in the day but there is darkness at night. There is an instinct in the lives of men which dreads the night. The day brings hope while the night brings some foreboding fear and gloom into the hearts of the average man.
Unfortunately, some night experiences are so long that
human beings wonder when they will ever experience the dawning of a new day. What some people have gone through has so affected their lives that they have concluded that life is all night, all darkness.
Some of these people have even gone ahead to say that there is no day or light in life. When they look everywhere, they see night or darkness. It appears that they have spent their entire life time in the night. They have seen only the dark side of life.
To such people, life can be likened to a dark room where there is no single ray of light. A lot of people have, therefore, made wrong conclusions concerning human existence. On the other hand, there are people who have passed through night experiences and are now experiencing daylight in every department of their lives.
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION – WHY?
You may ask, where is the dark room of life located? Which experiences in life can be likened to dwelling or living in the dark room? What is the dark room experience? The answer is simple. It can be found in one of the most popular questions which people often ask; Why? The question Why’ is the most ancient and universal question which man has asked and will continue to ask.
There are only four important questions in the whole world; why, which, how, when. Out of these four questions, the most important one is ‘why’. The major problems which we
go through in life take place as a result of our failure to ask the why questions.
Many people have taken some steps in life without asking this all important question. Not all that glitters is gold.
A sister failed to ask this question and decided to go into marriage blindly. She was not concerned about the spiritual status of the man she was going to get married to. She had her own list of conditions. Her prayer was, “0 Lord, I want to got married to a husband who meets the following conditions: One, he must be very rich. Two, he must be very tall. Three, he must be handsome. Four, he must have a good car. O Lord, that is what I want, in Jesus’ name”.
Funny enough, she soon found someone who met her conditions. It was a man who was not born again, although he was regular in church services.
The woman soon discovered that whenever there was a prayer meeting the man could not pray for more than two minutes. That was not all. He found it difficult to call the name of Jesus. She decided to speak out when she made that strange discovery. People advised her to do something about the situation before it was too late. However, she was not willing to leave the man. She told all those who warned her that, that was the only man of all the members of the church, who met the conditions she gave to God in prayer. She made up her mind that come rain, come sunshine, she would live with the man.
However, something happened on the second night of their wedding. She almost collapsed when she found the man stark naked standing before an altar which he had erected in their bedroom. When she recovered herself after some time, she decided to take her husband up on the issue of the
strange altar.
She said, “Darling, what are you doing with this demonic altar? Are you not a child of God? Are you an occult man?”
The reply she got was strange. Who are you talking to? I am sorry, I am not your husband. Just hold on for a moment. Your husband would soon come in”.
Surprisingly, somebody walked in, even when all the doors were locked. That was how the sister knew that she was in real trouble. Why did she get into that kind of strange experience? She failed to ask the right questions when she wanted to take a journey into marriage.
I know another brother who did not ask the right questions when he wanted to start a business. He was a Cocoa merchant and seemed to be a high flyer in the business since he specialized in exporting the product. However, something happened to him which almost made him to commit suicide.
He sent a ship load of cocoa abroad expecting returns when he was suddenly informed that the ship had disappeared. He ran to me to narrate this predicament. I told him what to do but he failed to do it. After managing to survive that major financial crisis, he decided to veer into wood business. He invested the highest amount he ever put into business on wood which he exported abroad. Again, he failed to ask the appropriate questions.
He got a fax message from his white business partner saying that all the wood was condemned because a very destructive insect had invaded all the logs. That was how he lost everything once again. That was his own night. He encountered those problems because he failed to ask necessary questions before stepping into the business.
I don’t know what you are going through right now but I want to let you know that most of those things are products of failure to ask questions before starting those projects.
One question that people have continued to ask all through the ages is; why does God allow problems? Yes, we have often wondered why God ever allows problems in life. That question is necessary and the answer will surely go a long way in making men and women find lasting solutions to their problems. I will take time to provide you with answers to some of the nagging questions in your heart. But in the meantime, I would like you to take this prayer point.
receive the sword of fire to disgrace stubborn mountains, in the name of Jesus.
WHY PROBLEMS?
Why does God allow problems? Why do Christians have problems?
Problems often appear negative on the surface but are sometimes allowed by God for one reason or the other. It is not a crime for a believer to have problems. The only thing that should never happen is that problems should never be allowed to reduce a believer to a victim f circumstances.
Problems are not permanent, they come and go. In fact, the Bible says all things work together for good to those who love God and those who are the called according to his purpose.
Problems come as an instrument for keeping us away from the world
Problems bring us to the realization that everything which takes place on earth is temporary or transient. That is why the Bible makes it very clear: Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. What the Bible is saying here is that we are strangers on earth. The little problems which we encounter on earth are reminding us of the fact that we are only passing through this world as sojoumers.
Permit me to say this: woe unto the man or woman whose existence in life makes him to forget heaven. The world is full of gain, grief and wickedness. It is not designed to be sweet and attractive forever.
The believer is a pilgrim. This world is not our home. We have no place of permanence here. Heaven is our final home. That is why problems are sometimes allowed by God as a means of reminding us that the earth is not our final bus-stop.
Adversities or problems bring out the best in us
Many people would have remained spiritual babies forever but for certain problems allowed by God to make them grow up spiritually. Although people who go through problems never enjoy them, they often discover that their problems end up forcing them into higher levels of spiritual growth.
I was invited recently for lunch somewhere. The seats were all filled. Before the food was brought I had noticed a man whose hair was completely white. ! thought that he was a pastor. The steward brought the food to the table and we were served individually. Each person’s plate was steaming hot. I decided to call upon the elderly man to pronounce blessing on the food. His prayer was seemingly endless. He recited seven chapters from the book of psalms and spent an additional ten minutes praying. Everybody except me became unhappy because the man spent too much time in prayer. In fact, the food had become cold by the time he finished.
However, I was not bothered. Rather, I became curious. I decided to move nearer to the man and engage him in a conversation. “Sir, I am quite fascinated by your prayers. You must be a prayer addict. If you recite seven chapters off hand just to bless our meal, I wonder how many chapters you will recite when you want to go into a session of prayer. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?”
The man drew a long breath and said, “My son, you are a small boy. You don’t know anything about life. If I decide to tell you what I have gone through in life I will spend the whole day recounting the experiences. Life’s problems have made me to learn almost the entire book of Psalms by heart. My experiences have brought me closer to God. I learnt these Bible verses and chapters through hard experiences in life. In fact, I cannot sleep without reciting Scriptures. That was how prayer and the Scriptures have become my second nature”.
He memorized almost every chapter of the book of psalms under a very heavy satanic pressure. Who knows, may be he wouldn’t have been able to memorize John 3:16 if not because of what happened to him in life. Therefore, there is no denying the fact that problems or adversities have a way of bringing the best out of us.
God expects us to gain vital experiences in life as a result of our travails and troubles. Only a bad school will ever promote students who fail their examination.
I remember an incident that took place years ago when I was a primary school pupil. Our school had a large population of students. There were six arms of each class. The teacher used to do something which has ever remained unforgettable in my memory. At the end of the year or THE DARK ROOM OF LIFE
immediately the terminal results were out, they would compile the names of pupils who came last in each class and got ready to treat them to an embarrassing entertainment called the ‘dunces party’ when the school resumed.
These pupils were taken round every class, drums were beaten and songs were rendered. The song goes thus. Zero collector you specialise in eating fishes’ eyes, and pounded yam. Zero collector, dance the dunces dance.
It was such an embarrassing dance that nobody ever prayed to be part of. The pupils were forced to dance. If any of them was not forthcoming, he received strokes of the cane. No matter how they felt, they must still dance to the tune of the mockery song. They were generally taken through all the classes from primary one to primary six. Other pupils would boo and jeer at them.
I noticed a particular thing. Throughout the six years I spent in the primary school, I did not know a single pupil who went through the embarrassing show more than once. All the pupils who were paraded in that shameful manner received the greatest challenges of their lives and vowed never to have anything to do with failure again. The experience was unpleasant but they learnt something positive from it. That kind of show affected them in that manner because it was generally carried out on the first day of the new academic session.
I know a lot of people today who would have been thousands of miles away from God if not that they had problems which awakened them to the consciousness that they needed God in their lives. Some people who attend church every Sunday would naturally have preferred to go for a picnic. Those who now pray fire prayers would prefer to engage in idle chatter with their friends.
Adversities or problems give occasions to silence the enemies of God
When the enemies of God have held their meetings and set the battle in array after a demonic decision, then God rises up to intervene on behalf of His people.
When the enemies of God’s people become confident that nothing can ever change the situation into which they have put the children of God, ‘the Fourth man in the fire’ will turn up and scatter all their forces.
I want you to close your eyes right now and take this prayer point. Every Goliath fighting against me, be silenced now, in the name of Jesus.
If a person never had a problem, he would never know that God can solve problems. Those who never had problems can never know what faith in God can do. For example, Pharaoh dealt with the children of Israel for 430 years. Initially, it was as if God was just watching His people being punished without doing anything about it. However, there was a turn of events. When Moses declared let my people go that they may worship me,” Pharaoh was reluctant to allow them to go. He attempted to challenge God: “Who is that God that I might worship him?” No doubt God proved Himself and made Pharaoh to know that no one could challenge God and get away with it.
Another person like Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezer, also dared God. He raised up an idol asking everybody to bow down to it. However, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego were defiant. He said, “Who is that God that would deliver you out of my hand?” God also silenced him. He was sent on a compulsory exile to savour the company of wild animals for a season.
Sennacherub was another enemy of God’s people. He tried to defy God. He plainly told them that the gods of all the other nations which he defeated in battles did not deliver the nations from his hands. How can your God also deliver you in this battle? Don’t let Jeoshapphat deceive you. What happened to Sennacherub? He was also disgraced.
Read this testimony.
Some enemies of our church decided to put us in trouble. They decided to bring a corpse into the church in order to tell the general public that we practise ritual murder. They brought the corpse around 4.30 a.m. believing that nobody would detect them. However, when they were about to drop it, an angel of the Lord came into the scene and told them to keep on standing there with it. Their hands were glued to the corpse. They could not drop it neither were they able to move away from the spot where they stood.
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They were in that position until members of the church met them when they came for the service that morning.
No human being detected them but the angels of God were around to arrest them that morning, and lead them into public disgrace. God allowed them to attempt carrying out their plot in order to disgrace them.
Problems or adversities make us to appreciate the goodness of God
It is natural for us to take things for granted. We often overlook important things when they come to us on a platter of gold. What we do not labour for is hardly important to us. Many of us are guilty of refusing to thank God for His goodness.
A preacher once conducted a well attended crusade and expected outstanding miracles to take place. He spent a very long time praying healing prayers for the participants. He spent so much time praying with the totality of his spiritual energy that he was sure that the prayer he prayed would be followed by wonderful healings. He was so confident, that he decided to test the efficacy of the prayers which he had prayed by asking those who received miracles to signify by raising up their hands.
He was shocked to discover that only one hand went up out of a two thousand strong congregation. He decided not to show his disappointment by asking the only man who received a miracle to come forward to testify. The man walked up gallantly to the dais and shouted, “Praise the Lord! When I came to the service tonight I had a slight headache. The Lord touched me when the man of God prayed. The headache is now gone. Isn’t God wonderful? Praise the Lord”.
The pastor was so sad and discouraged that the only miracle of healing which followed his powerful prayer was the healing of a minor headache.
He almost started putting some blame on God for healing a man who had minor headache when there were people with serious diseases in the congregation. He did not feel like thanking God or appreciating His goodness for the healing of the man.
When he got home in the night, an angel of the Lord told him, “Why did you choose to belittle what the Lord did during the programme? Do you think that headache is a small miracle? We are going to test headache on you. God wants you to have a feel of what it means to suffer minor headache”.
By the time the headache came in full force, the man of God discovered that what he once called ordinary headache could actually kill. The headache was so terrible that, he felt like his head should be cut off from his body. The headache was on for one full week until he cried unto God for mercy. He realised that the man who suffered headache had a very serious problem. He realised that he had been guilty of lack of gratitude to God.
You must learn to appreciate even the little mercies which you receive from God. You must make thanksgiving part of your daily activities.
A problem or adversity makes us to depend on our God
Problems often end up increasing our confidence in God and make us to see Him as our Maker. When you discover that all other things are no longer working, you will be left with no other option than to lean on the everlasting arms of the Lord. When all consultants, experts and doctors have concluded that their best cannot solve any problem, you will decide to trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Problems or adversities purify us
It is normal for you to take a break from activities and look inwards. Whenever things seem not to go on smoothly, you will naturally decide to search your life. Examine yourself and confess all known sins. Problems will make you to be more conscious of maintaining a healthy relationship with the Lord. As you make efforts towards disallowing sin from standing between you and God, you become a better person. Adversities generally make us stronger.
All serious Bible students have discovered that great men and women who achieved great things for the Lord passed through trials and adversities. It is clear, therefore, that we need some adversities in order to experience meaningful spiritual growth. Just like regular exercises are healthy for a baby’s total development.
‘You need at all times to overcome all problems and adversities so that you will be able to climb the next step in the ladder of maturity.
There is a positive seed in every adversity. The hardship and the problems which you go through in life should make you better. To recognize the usefulness of an anchor, you must feel the storm, says a writer.
Why does God allow problems in our lives? Some of the problems which we go through come into our lives in form of discipline from the Lord.
Problems or adversities are introduced into our lives as chastisement from God
God corrects us the way earthly fathers correct their children to make them better. God does not wait for our permission before allowing adversities to come into our lives.
The Bible says: “Thou shalt also consider in thine heart. That as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God to walk in His ways and to fear Him”. (Deuteronomy 8:5-6).
The Lord disciplines and corrects those He loves. God had to discipline the psalmist when he was going astray, “The Lord hath chastened me sore; but he hath not given me over unto death”(Psalm 118:18).
The Bible tells us: And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chastened. and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons” (Heb. 12:5-8).
God will continue to correct, discipline and put you on your toes as long as He loves you. To leave you to do what you like is to allow you to perish. Therefore, God will pass you through the tough mill of discipline to bring out the best in you and to fulfil His will for your life.
God allows us to experience problems or adversities to make us to be sympathetic towards other people
You cannot identify with somebody who has gone through a very rough road unless you are familiar with that terrain yourself. If you have never gone through tough times in your life, you will not be able to appreciate what others are going through. Those who have experienced adversities or problems are always able to understand what their brethren are going through.
For example, if you have never experienced acute stomachache you will not know how to respond to someone who is rolling on the ground because of discomfort in the stomach. You might even scream at such a person.
I was surprised one day, when I came across a medical doctor who was scared of taking an injection. By the time that doctor went through that experience once, he would be sympathetic towards those who are supposed to be injected.
Problems humble people
It stops people from lifting up themselves above measure. That is why the Bible clearly states that a novice should not be given any important position in the house of God. Those who have not experienced problems are generally full of themselves. They go about bragging about what they can do. But a man who has gone through bitter experiences will be cool headed, humble and self-effacing.
Show me a man who is proud and I will show you someone who has not gone through any experiences in life before. Those who have passed through a lot of problems in life are generally not haughty. Surely, the ranks of those who raise up their shoulders, are novices, as far as practical experiences are concerned. On the other hand, those who have taken examinations and passed in the school of experience are always humble.
Problems teach us to pray
There are many people who would not have been able to pray but for the fact that they went through trying times in their lives. I know a lot of people who could not pray more than five minutes but can now pray two hours non-stop. How did such people experience remarkable changes in their lives? Problems have made them to cultivate the habit of praying.
A man took his wife to the hospital for delivery. The man”‘ was so wealthy that he decided to use one of the best hospitals in the country. None of the specialist doctors was able to help the wife and she was between life and death. Her life was hanging in the balance. The doctors had to call him aside to break the sad news: “Sir, your wife is in a very critical condition, we cannot hide anything from a man of your standard. In fact, you have to choose between your wife or the baby. If you try to save your wife’s life, the baby will die. If you want to save the baby, your wife might die. So, please, make your choice”.
They waited for an answer but the wealthy man was not forthcoming. He lifted up his head after a few minutes and said: Excuse me. You will have to give me some time. Let me sleep over what you have said, then I’ll get back to you. Thank you”.
Our rich friend decided to seek the opinion of his best friend.
Good enough, his friend advised him to take his problem to
God. He specifically invited him to attend our special
fasting and prayer programme called ‘Power Must Change Hands’. He gladly accepted to attend the programme but his friend told him that there was a condition for participation: “You must be ready to fast”. The rich man interrupted: “Fasting? But … I have not fasted before. I always eat early in the morning. That will be difficult but I’ll try”.
Then his friend went ahead to explain to him. ‘The fasting programme generally lasts one and half days”. The rich man became afraid. However he went back home and started the fasting. By 10a.m. he was hungry. He had to lock up all the food in the house to avoid eating. By 3.00 a.m., the following day, he felt like dying. He woke up as early as 6.00a.m., took his key and tried to go out. His hand could not hold the keys. He was weak and tired. He had to phone a neighbour who opted to drive him to the church,
The good news is that God visited him. His problem was mentioned directly from the pulpit. His wife was delivered of a bouncing baby. Both the baby and the mother are alive today. The man’s problem taught him how to fast and pray.
How would such a rich man have thought about fasting and prayer if not for his problem? Many people actually learn how to pray in the school of affliction.
Problems or difficulties bring out your talents, which in a smooth situation would have been lying dormant
Somebody has said that sometimes when God writes a love letter to you, He sends it in a black envelope. God can be likened to a surgeon who will tell you, “Friend, I may hurt you but I won’t injure you”. God has to melt us before He can mould us. Human beings can be likened to a tea bag which we drop inside water. The flavour as well as the tea will only come out when it comes in contact with hot water. That is how God allows us to come in contact with all kinds of situations so that the flavour and the colour of our lives can come forth.
The dark room of life is necessary for our glorification and exaltation.
Let me remind you of what the Bible says; And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and for those who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
/ Whatever you are going through today, you must remember that those experiences will surely work for your good. Dont ever forget that although weeping may endure for a night, surely joy will come in the morning.
Your night is temporary. You cannot dwell in the night forever. You will surely pass from this stage to another stage. You are closer to the morning of your joy than you have ever imagined. Scriptures cannot be broken. There is a morning of joy waiting for you. Your experiences are temporary not permanent. You will get out of the dark room. The light of God will shine upon your life. God will watch over His word to perform it in your life.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Every good thing my hands have started to build, my hands shall finish it, in Jesus name.
2. Every dream of poverty, I dash you to the ground, in the name of Jesus.
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