Treasures of Darkness: Explanation, Excerpt, Exhortation

"I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the Lord,
Who call you by your name

Am the God of Israel."

Isaiah 45:3

 

1. The Explanation:

I chose this verse for the name of my blog, because it is a very dear promise to me from God’s Word. I have struggled with depression all my life, and found even greater challenges to my emotional stability when I was diagnosed with S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) after moving to Alaska.

The “Land of the Midnight Sun” has beautiful, endless summer days, but the winters are very long and dark. In Fairbanks, only two hours south of the Arctic Circle, on Winter Solstice, the sun barely peeks over the horizon and sets again in less than four hours. Considering that two of those hours are spent by the very gradual process of dawn and dusk throughout the winter months, the amount of sunshine is very minimal. That is only on the days that the sun shines at all; many times the skies are cloudy and overcast, which produces an eerie blue haze during the hours it is not pitch-black outside! Then, there is ice-fog to consider, which happens when the temperature drops well below zero, and an air inversion occurs. It is truly oppressive on these days, because the atmosphere is thick and foggy, like smoke, and the sunlight is further masked.

Many people struggle with the darkness, physically and emotionally. Studies prove that sunlight is necessary for Vitamin D absorption, and that ADHD symptoms improve after being outside in the sunshine, with green grass and trees. I won’t begin to address all the remedies and preventative treatments for S.A.D. or “winter blues” but suffice it to say it adds a new complication to the overall maintenance and prevention of Dysthymia: chronic mild depression.

Along with my life verse (Isaiah 60:19,20), the promise that my “days of sorrow will end,” God has promised to reveal His treasures to me, during the dark days. He promised to show me the hidden riches of secret places. Alaska is a vast storehouse of riches, like the gold buried in the mines, or oil coursing under the earth. He brought me here to help me obtain my inheritance, not earthly wealth, but spiritual rewards.

This blog will serve to record my thoughts along the way, as I seek these treasures and hidden riches. Much like a travel journal, this will be my account of adventures and pitfalls along my spiritual journey, until I receive my reward and my days of sorrow have ended.

2. The Excerpt:

Treasures of Darkness

I found this website after a Google search on “Treasures of Darkness”. This preacher has explained the verse in far greater detail than I ever could, and he preached this sermon in 1853!

Preached at Eden Street Chapel, London, on Tuesday Evening, August 2, 1853, by J. C. Philpot

"I will go before you, and make the crooked places straight – I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron – and I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who calls you by name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:2,3

To whom were these words spoken? To Cyrus. And who was Cyrus? King of Persia. But how did Cyrus come to be introduced into the Word of God; and how did it happen that the Lord gave such promises to a heathen monarch? Cyrus, though a heathen prince, was an instrument chosen of God to do an appointed work, which was to overthrow the great Chaldean empire, take the city of Babylon, and restore the children of Israel to their own land; and therefore one hundred and seventy years before he executed the office thus assigned to him he was expressly pointed out and personally addressed by name in the record of inspired prophecy. What a proof is this of the inspiration of God's Word, and that all events are under His appointment and control! ...

..."Treasures of darkness!" But is not this a strange expression? "Treasures of darkness!" How can there be darkness in the City of Salvation of which the Lord the Lamb is the eternal light? The expression does not mean that the treasures themselves are darkness, but that they were hidden in darkness until they were brought to light. The treasures of Belshazzar, like the bank bullion, were buried in darkness until they were broken up and given to Cyrus. It is so in a spiritual sense. Are there not treasures in the Lord Jesus? Oh! what treasures of grace in His glorious Person! What treasures of pardon in His precious blood! What treasures of righteousness in His perfect obedience! What treasures of salvation in all that He is and has as the great High Priest over the house of God! …

… But it is only as these hidden riches of secret places are thus opened up to the soul that we see, or feel, or know what the Lord Jesus Christ is to those that believe in and love His holy name. It is this bringing forth of the hidden riches of secret places which stamps a divine reality upon God's Word, and makes it to be spirit and life to the soul. To feel the power and blessedness of these things is a part of that "secret of the Lord which is with those who fear Him;" and it is by getting into these blessed secrets, handling these treasures, and obtaining possession of these riches, that we come experimentally to realize what a blessed power there is in a divine heartfelt religion. We may see the doctrines plainly enough in the Word of God; but if that be all we know about them, it is like seeing money which is not our own, and casting up accounts of other people's property. The grand point is not only to see the riches, but to be put in possession of them. A religion without power, without savor, without a felt blessedness in the truth of God, by the application of the Spirit, is worthless both for time and eternity. …

…Now what springs out of having these treasures of darkness brought to light? A spiritual experience and a knowledge of God, and that He is the God of His people--"That you may know that I, the Lord, who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel."

3. The Exhortation:

Are you struggling with depression? S.A.D.? or any other emotional disorder? I know a great Physician! He is also a wonderful Counselor! Need a referral? Write to me at glorybeam@mac.com. I’ll be happy to share His name with you!

My Christmas letter

Blessings to our friends and family,

It’s twenty degrees below zero and pitch black outside (at 9:37AM!). I guess you could call the weather “frightful” up here, but we’ve gotten used to it by now. We’re in our fifth winter in Fairbanks. Alaska winters have been challenging for me, but I’m learning to seek the “treasures of darkness” (Isaiah 45:3).

It’s been a year of marking milestones and overcoming obstacles. Paul and I both hit the big “40” this year, and we now have a teen and “tween”: Mia is 13, soon to be 14—the legal age for obtaining a driver’s permit and a “real” job, here in Alaska! Ben is 12; God bless all teachers of junior boys!

We love our female Maltese, Snowberry, and our new 9-week old puppy, Sakari (means “sweet” in Eskimo, like saccharin?) a giant Alaskan Malamute. We figured a “real” dog that stayed outside might help us to get out and exercise more. Winter sports like Skijoring, dogsledding, etc., are a big thing up here.

We made our first trip to CA last month to the Monterey Bay area. It was beautiful! We are planning a trip to Hawaii in February so those two “escapes” have made this winter much easier to take!

Alaska has its challenges, but nothing beats the beauty of the summer days that never end: The Land of the Midnight Sun. Come and visit us when you can. God bless you, dear friends, “til we meet again.” We pray you’ll have a wonderful holiday season.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”

to feel again

I’m learning to feel again.

I’ve been pondering a revelation that occurred to me while sitting in a room at the doctor’s office. I had been given the preliminary workup by the nurse, (weight, blood pressure, temperature, etc.), and I remember being perturbed by her questioning why I was there to be seen by the doctor. I said that the doctor wanted to see me, so she should just call it a follow-up visit. It irritated me that I was sitting there not really knowing why I was sitting there.

When the nurse had taken my blood pressure, I asked for the result. It was 122/83, which was really great for me! I was surprised because I felt like it would be higher. (I know you can’t feel BP, but I was just sure it was too high.) Then I had an even bigger surprise. When she read my temp, it was 100.4! She asked, “Are you not feeling well?” That’s when it hit me—I don’t know how I feel!

Between the 45-minute wait on the doctor to appear, I began contemplating. “How do I feel?” Of course, the more I thought about it, the worse I felt. Another contemplation I had was that the walls of those rooms were very thin; I could hear two or three conversations at once. This was very annoying to me, like hearing a radio and two CD players all on at once. It made me think that perhaps my brain has weaker filters than most people. I get brain fatigue from the overload of external stimuli. Perhaps that explains my need to journal my thoughts so I can hear myself think more clearly.

What if my neurons and neurotransmitters are so sensitive that they pick up on others’ emotions? If I am being bombarded daily with hundreds of “vibes” of those around me, wouldn’t that shut out my own ability to sense and feel my own emotions?

I’ve always known my physical sense of feeling is dulled or muted – I don’t feel cold until I have an icy nose or start shivering, I don’t feel hot until I’m dripping with sweat. I don’t feel full until I’m very uncomfortable. I realize too that I don’t feel angry until I’m very angry, which is why I started the “Anger Journal” to help me express my emotions in a healthy way, before it spills out in a volcanic eruption.

If there is such a thing as emotional memory (a storage bank of every emotion I’ve ever felt) that operates on a separate system than intellectual memory, I would guess that the majority of emotional records that are stored for my retrieval are negative. I can retrieve precious few positive emotional memories—tiny moments of near euphoria, sheer bliss, or unspeakable joy. The bank seems to be filled to capacity with sadness, fear, and anger.

Perhaps that’s what the Holy Spirit does in those gut-wrenching sessions of prayer. The Great Counselor must be delving into the corners and crevices of my heart/mind/soul. He may be opening up the safety deposit boxes of my emotional memory bank and cleaning out my cluttered emotional storage and retrieval system. Could it be that is what the Bible means by “renewing your mind”?

It is a painful process. It is cathartic, and somewhat relieving to be emptied out and cleansed of such poisons: malice, bitterness, etc.. But it sets off all the alarms and sirens of my security system.

It hurts to feel again. It is a sure sign of my recovery from depression. As the ice melts away from my heart, the pain sensors tingle and burn. I can’t decide if I am dying or being reborn.

In Alaska, the winter is long and cold and dark. There is no spring season—only a few short weeks of slush and brown sludge. They call it “Break-Up,” and it is as painful as it sounds. Rivers flood, roads crack and crumble, drains and ditches overflow, and sidewalks are covered in treacherous icy slush. The cause of all of this “pain” is the warm, gentle sun! Slowly, gradually, in an unobtrusive way, the sun appears earlier and stays longer, quietly melting away the winter ice.

I find it ironic that my emotional winter lasted longer than a year, all through the summer, and is now turning into “Spring Break-Up” just as winter approaches. As the sun sets earlier each day, and the brightness of the moon shines on me, the Lord is whispering to me: “Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your Everlasting Light, and your days of SORROW will end!” (Isaiah 60:19,20)