Sometimes God doesn’t tell us why because He wants us to know who. In Psalm 23, David goes from talking about God, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” to talking with Him, “Thou art with me.” What happened in between? David learned that no matter how dark the way is, the Lord is there to guide us. He discovered that it’s better to walk through the valley with God than stand on the mountaintop alone. God doesn’t always light the path in advance, but He promises, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee” (Isa 43:2). When you feel like you’re out of your depth or in over your head, claim the promise! Job had many unanswered questions, but when he began to understand the difference between reason and relationship, he told God, “I…heard about you before, but now I have seen you” (Job 42:5 TLB). When you can’t find the reason, trust the relationship. God won’t fail you.

Contrary to what you may think, darkness isn’t always the work of the enemy. Sometimes it’s one of God’s best teaching tools. “About the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea…And when they saw Him…they were greatly amazed…beyond measure, and marveled” (Mk 6:48-51 NKJV). You get to know the Lord by going through storms with Him. The Psalmist said, “To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Ps 139:12 NLT). So instead of running from your problems, ask God to develop your night vision, to show you “the treasures of darkness…hidden in secret places” (NRS).