If you ask photographers, they will tell you that there is a process in developing film. When a picture is taken, an invisible image produced by the exposure to light of a photosensitive material such as photographic film is referred to as a latent image. When photographic film is developed in darkness, the area that was exposed darkens and forms a visible image. The process itself is what brings beauty to the photographer's picture and without the help of this process the picture would not develop properly and most importantly, this process can only happen in complete darkness.
The photographer would also tell you that along with this process, a chemical amplifier is used that would require you to wait several days in order for the pictures to be completely processed. There is no gauge or anything to look at to show you the steps or how far along the process is coming, you simply have to trust the process that is taking place in the dark room where no one sees.
The Bible itself is like a darkroom. Every page reveals God who is behind the scenes developing His plans for mankind. He does not always show us how He will bring about His plans, but He is trustworthy and always has our best interest in mind. We must remember that God gave mankind a free will and therefore, He works His plans out within the boundaries of man's free will, choices and mistakes made within their free wills that oftentimes brings about hardships, trials and tribulations because of this free will to rebell and choose sin over obedience.
Darkness and suffering are inescapable in this life. All of us go through tough times and hardship, but it is important to keep our focus on God and learn that He uses hardships in His darkroom to process and mold us as we were created to be. Just look at the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis. He was a man whose life and character was developed in the dark. God allowed Joseph to suffer most of his life in hardships and darkness, even going to prison, even though Joseph committed no crime in order to work out God's plan.
Joseph had suffered hardship from the time that he was a child in his father's house. He had a passive father. He grew up in a family of extreme tension beginning with his father and grandfather over a business venture of sheep. His father had issues with his brother Esau over a stolen birthright. His mother died when he was young while giving birth to his younger brother. His oldest brother had an insestous relationship with one of his father's wives. His sister was abducted and raped and as revenage, his two oldest brothers killed all the men in the town. He suffered jealousy from his older brothers all of his life. These brothers sold him as a slave and lied to their father saying that Joseph had been killed by an animal. This was the darkness that Joseph suffered in his early years.
In his later years as a slave, Joseph was falsely accused by his master's wife and sent to prison. He was promised help by a former prisoner that forgot about him in his time of need. Joseph did everything right, but everything wrong happened to him. Joseph knew and trusted that God was at work, and that in time, the wrong done to him would be used by God for good.
God wants to develop His image in us through the process of life's darkness and suffering so that we may know Him better, see Him better and project a more perfect picture to others; so that they too may know Him in the same way.
Within the limitations that you are allowing God to work in your life because of your free will, He is trying to create a masterpiece in you as well sweet friend. Will you trust the darkness of not understanding?
Hold Fast,
-Bren
