In the Dark Room

Have you ever been scrolling through Facebook when suddenly you see a photo that takes your breath away?   Or maybe you were walking through a hospital and a picture hanging on the wall made you wish you could just step into it...and out of the reality that you were currently in.   We've all seen those photos that we would deem masterpieces, whether it was a photo of your child or a place that you've longed to be.  

I recently had the honor of speaking to a group of ladies who are now where I once was...in the life of full time ministry.   I was given the topic of "Camera" and while preparing my sermon, God did what He always does...He spoke to my heart out of what I consider to be normal, everyday things.    I wanted to share part of that with you, today.

My love of photography began earlier than I can remember.    I have always loved cameras and asked for them as gifts when I was a little girl.   I would take photo after photo and couldn't wait to get them developed so I could see if they turned out the way I envisioned.

In college, I learned how to develop my own film, taking it into the darkroom and putting it through a series of processes so that it would come out as a photo.  The dark room isn't dark for no reason.  (I know that was a double negative but hang with me!)   There is a very important purpose for the darkness.   When I was trained in the dark room, I learned that exposing film to light at that point will absolutely ruin it.   It will be overexposed and completely blown (or white).   It will be useless.   

It is hard to see in the dark room, so I had to learn to trust what I knew.   I had already learned, in the light, where everything was placed in the dark room.    I knew where the table was that held the trays of chemical baths.   I knew what order those trays where in.   I knew where the drying place was.  I learned where the enlarger was and how to use it properly.   I learned where the safe light was so that I  could move around without injuring myself and I learned when it was ok for me to use the safe light. When the lights go out in the dark room, familiarity is most necessary!  

There have been many times in my life when I felt I was in a dark room of sorts.   Perhaps the most memorable was when Jeff was diagnosed with cancer and when he passed away.   It was during those times that I felt as if the world around me was a giant darkroom and I questioned why God would let me go into such a dark place.   I now know that He was developing a masterpiece...something that would stir desire in those who would later behold it.

In the dark room, light sensitive material is developed and turned into something beautiful.   Light sensitive material.   That's me.   I've been exposed to "the Light" and "the Light" has left His mark on me.   My exposure to the Light was wonderful and fun!   I compare it to those mountain top experiences.   Those times when you can feel God so near and you know He is real.   For me, those times are powerful, yet brief.   Perhaps that is because God knows that prolonged exposure would be too much for me to take...it would ruin me.   

Once in the dark room, the marks that came from the Light can be developed, resulting in a beautiful image.   In this dark place, I begin to look at the film with an enlarger.   It moves the image from film (that hard to see and not useful for actually viewing the image), to a base that is used for making prints (allowing us to view a finished product).   Depending on the type of film I've used, safe lights can sometimes be used.   When developing black and white film, you can use a red or amber light to see your way around.  However, when developing color film, one must remain in absolute darkness to preserve full color.   I believe that is the way life is.   Sometimes, it is dark but we can still see a little...we can find our way around in the dark and yet God brings a beautiful picture out in the end.   But sometimes, the developing process will require absolute, pitch black darkness, because what God is developing is something that will be in living color.   Vibrant and rich, but only after absolute darkness.   

Philippians 1:6 says this, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."   In the amplified Bible it is worded like this, "he will continue until the day of Jesus Christ (right up to the time of His return), DEVELOPING (that good work) and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."   God is developing something in me that requires time in the darkest of rooms in order to be what He has envisioned it to be.   

He required that His own Son go to the dark room...did you know that?   Take a look at Matthew 3:17.    Jesus has just been baptized by John the Baptist and look what God says..."This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight!"...but then look at the very next verse!  Matthew 4:1, "Then Jesus was led(guided) by the (Holy) Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.   **pindrop silence**   Did you hear that?   God led Jesus (the same One He had just declared to be His BELOVED SON) into the wilderness.   He led Him into the "dark room".   He took Him to a dark place so that He could develop something in Him.   He didn't lead Him there because He was displeased with Him or to punish Him.  In fact it was the opposite...He was developing a masterpiece!

Sometimes we cannot make sense of the dark room.   It's dark after all and it is scary.   But God leads us there, so He can work on us.  So that He can develop what He has already begun in us.   Sometimes, He will allow a safe light...be thankful for those times...but sometimes, the masterpiece He has in mind is so colorful and vibrant, it requires absolute darkness for development.  Sometimes, when the darkness is so thick that we can't see His hand, we have to trust it.   It is during those times that we must remember the things we learned about the dark room when were able to see it in the light.   We must trust the things we learned in the light...we must trust the scriptures that we learned, the experiences we had in a previous encounter.   Sometimes we must fully rely on our memory of what the "Light" has taught us in order to be able to navigate the dark room.  

We must trust that God has a purpose for the dark room.   That just like Christ, being led there is for our good and for a greater purpose, not for our demise.   Are you in a dark room today?   Take courage if you are!!   God has you there so that soon, when He is finished developing you, He can reveal a colorful masterpiece!   One that incites oohs and aahs from those who behold it.    One that leaves others breathless as they take in the masterpiece God has created!!

Oh Lord, help me to never despise the dark room.  Help me to fully trust you there.   And when you are done, reveal Your masterpiece in me!