The Darkest Of Times

The darkness of night had come quickly. There was no light and the darkness was darker than any darkness they had ever known. Fear and uncertainty and hopelessness had paralyzed them, and they did not know which way to turn. This group of men from long ago had decided to go fishing. Fishing is what they had done; it was the only thing they knew to do. They had experienced their greatest loss ever. With that loss they had lost their hope. Their leader had been captured and killed. These men were together in a boat out on the sea going through the motions of fishing, but their minds were not on fishing. In their grief there was nothing they could say so they said nothing.

Finally on the horizon in the east they noticed the first signs of the sun's light. It had been a long miserable night. Slowly they headed to shore, burdened with darkened hopes despite the arrival of the morning sun. As they drew closer to the shore’s edge they noticed on the lonely beach just one man sitting in front of the fire he had built.

The man stood and yelled to them, “Haven’t you caught any fish?” They answered that that hadn’t caught a single fish. The man said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat.” When they did what he said, immediately, their net was so full of fish that they could not bring it in the boat. A man by the name of John recognized the fellow on the beach. He cried out, “It is the Lord! It is Jesus,” Simon Peter, the one who had denied Jesus three times shortly before his death, jumped into the water, and made his way to shore as quickly as he could to be near his Lord.

The other men, the disciples, followed in the boat. Their mood had changed. Their darkened spirits had been filled with light. Their hope had returned in the person of Jesus. Jesus had destroyed everything that had plunged them into the valley of despair. Their Hope would remain forever despite the persecution that would follow them wherever they went.

Jesus is our hope. No darkness will overtake us if stay near him. A few lines from a song written in 1883 by Edward Mote should encourage us to find our Hope in Jesus. I changed some of the words to make it a little more understandable for those who might not be familiar with the song.

“On Christ the Solid Rock”

“My hope is built on nothing less-Than Jesus’ blood and his

Righteousness;

I dare not trust in the sweetest things of this world, but I will wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When the darkness tries to hide His lovely face,
I will rest on His unchanging grace;
Jesus is my anchor, He holds me within his care.
When all around me comes tumbling down,
Jesus remains my hope, my life, my all.
When He comes back and the trumpet sounds at the end of time,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Pure and Holy to stand before the throne.

Jesus is my solid Rock, and on that Rock I will always stand.