I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name (Isa 45:3).

When God takes you to a depth of soul experience be alert to new truths and new perspectives. During these times God often leads us to amazing new discoveries. It can be a storehouse of unexpected riches for the soul.

Bible teacher F. B. Meyer once observed, “Whenever you get into a prison of circumstances, be on watch. Prisons are rare places for seeing things. It was in prison that Bunyan saw his wondrous allegory and Paul met the Lord and John looked through heaven’s open door and Joseph saw God’s mercy. God has no chance to show His mercy to some of us except when we are in some distressing sorrow. The night is the time to see the stars.”1

I began writing TGIF Today God Is First daily devotionals in the middle of a seven year period of darkness. Today, the devotionals are read daily by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. God has revealed to me secret things that have benefited countless others. Writing has become a central focus of God’s work in me. If I had not gone through that dark time, I wouldn’t be an author today.

We must live each day to the fullest. We can’t live in the past or in the future. We must live in the moment that God gives us right now. Our time of deliverance will come according to God’s schedule. Meanwhile, we need to be faithful in doing what God has given us to do and be content in the place where He has placed us.

When we go through a trial of adversity, we need to understand that God is performing radical surgery on our life. The purpose of this surgery is not to destroy us, but to give us a new heart. God is making a fundamental change in who we are and who we will be.

And, He will always reveal treasures from these secret places if we are willing to walk through the process patiently.