“(In the beginning) The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light:’ and there was light.” Genesis 1:2-3

DEVOTION

Since the beginning of time, God has been calling dead things to life, building creation out of nothing, and bringing light into the darkness. And he only has to speak it. 

There are times in our lives when we end up in deep, dark places. We find ourselves at the bottom of the lowest valleys and can’t seem to find our way out. We look up for help to find nothing and no one there. We are left empty and void, much like the earth before God spoke.

Fast forward through time and we are at the pool of Bethesda, sitting with the disciple, John. There is a crowd of impotent and lame folk waiting for an angel to stir the water in an attempt to be the first to step in and be healed. In this crowd is a diseased man who has been in this deep valley of disease for 38 years. 

He has been waiting and waiting for someone to help him into the water to be healed. Jesus sees this man and kneels down by him. When asked if he wants to be well, the sick man replies that there is no man to help him into the water. Jesus responds, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk.” Immediately, the man was made whole (John 5:2-9).

A few years ago, I found myself in the dark valley of divorce. Losing the majority of my friends and possessions, I was left cold, empty, and diminished by the world. This valley was dark and lonely. There was no one to lift me into the water to be healed. 

I felt abandoned by God while waiting for him to reach down and pull me up. I watched others climb into the healing pool broken and re-emerge restored and whole, wondering the entire time when God would dip me into this pool. I watched and waited, watched and waited. People came and went until there was no one left, and I received silence in response to my desperate prayers.

But Jesus had never left me. He had been sitting with me through the entire season. He never left and had no interest in leaving me in that condition. As much as he longed for me to be healed, he was not going to pull me out of that place. He was calling me to rise up out of it! Through the silence, I heard a still, small voice: “Get up, Amanda! Get up and walk!”

I very well could have been the man at the pool of Bethesda. Just like this man, when I stood up and began to walk, my healing began. I had to fully trust this voice that was guiding me and speaking life with each step I took. I may have felt alone but I knew I was never alone. The line between faith and feelings is a precarious one!

God can be trusted with our suffering no matter how deep, how dark, and how far we fall. No one but Jesus will truly understand what we are going through, and no one will care more than he does. 

As much as our suffering may be similar to others, it is as unique to each of us as each pattern is to a snowflake. Jesus knows our unique suffering. Jesus cares about our suffering. Jesus wants us to rise up in faith out of our suffering! 

He will sit with us in our grief and suffering as long as he needs to, but God is just as faithful as the stories of healing, redemption, and resurrection found in his Word. He will speak light into our darkness and command us to arise and be healed! Whatever deep and dark place you have found yourself in, you can trust in our God who calls dead things to life!

Amanda Van Every 

Director of Guest Services, OKC Campus

avanevery@crossings.church

RESOURCES

• Unwavering series 
• The Story of Job teaching series
• CareSeries Groups & Classes
• Celebrate Recovery Groups
• “There Was Jesus” worship song
• There Was Jesus sermon series