Volume 8: When It Gets Dark

Evening has a way of slowing everything down. The noise fades. The crowds disappear. The pressure of performance goes away. What is left is quiet. And in that quiet, God often does His deepest work. Continue with this devotional and I’ll explain.

Scripture does not treat evening as an accident. It is a sacred pattern. “And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:5). God begins with darkness and then speaks light into it.

We often rush past evening trying to get back to daylight. But God meets people when the sun goes down; when circumstances feel dark. Not to abandon them. To reveal Himself to them.

Filled in the Evening

Bethany means “house of affliction.” According to the Bible, Bethany was not an impressive place. Not polished. Not put together. It literally means a place where people are struggling. But also a place of genuine intimacy.

And that is where Jesus chose to go at the end of His day. After the crowds. After the pressure. After correcting people who did not want to hear truth. He did not stay where He was needed. He went where He was wanted. Everybody wants to feel wanted. There’s a unique beauty of feeling wanted even when there’s no need to be filled—that’s what genuine love looks like.

“He went out unto Bethany with the twelve” (Mark 11:11).

That seemingly minor detail is easy to skip. But it says everything. Jesus left the noise and went to a house full of people who wanted Him around even when He was no longer doing miracles.

Most of us spend our days trying to hold it together. Trying to say the right things. Trying to be strong for everybody else. I’ll be the first to admit that I do. I am guilty of passing by Bethany and missing opportunities to feel wanted.

Mary sat at His feet because she wanted more of Him. Martha served, but she was overwhelmed at times. Lazarus had a whole testimony that said, “I was dead, and now I am alive.” This was not a perfect house. It was a real one. And Jesus chose it at night.

Now here is where it gets deeper. The Old Testament shows us something we usually miss. God does not avoid dark places. He reveals Himself in them. “Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:21).

I had to read that again; God was in the darkness. So, maybe the place you have been trying to escape is actually the place God is trying to meet you. Don’t run from difficulties, conflict, and challenges—that’s where you will encounter more of God.

We all need a place where we can be honest. A place where we can sit instead of perform. A place where we can admit, “I need You,” without cleaning it up first, without begging for attention, and without feeling like we won’t be heard.

Because here is the truth. God fills what is empty, not what is full of itself. So, if you feel tired, overwhelmed, and stretched in a dark place, you might be closer to your Bethany moment than you think.

That is not God avoiding you. That is where He sits with you. That is where He strengthens you. That is where He prepares you for what comes next. Everybody, and I do mean absolutely everybody, needs a Bethany experience.

All Darkness Is Not the Same

Bethany was a kind of darkness where God meets you gently. A quiet place. A filling place. A place where you can breathe again. But there is another kind of darkness. Not peaceful. Not still. Not comforting. This one presses.

Then comes another evening. This time in a garden called Gethsemane. The name means oil press. This is where Jesus wrestled. Not with people, but with purpose. Not with crowds, but with calling.

“My soul is exceeding sorrowful” (Matthew 26:38). This feels different. The same Jesus who was welcomed in Bethany is now alone in Gethsemane. The same disciples who walked with Him are now asleep. The same evening that once gave Him rest now surrounds Him with resistance. And if you have lived long enough, you know this moment.

When what once felt like peace now feels like pressure. When the people who said they would be there are not. When God feels close one moment, and silent the next. This is not the darkness of being filled. This is the darkness of being pressed. But this is not failure. This is God preparing you.

Gethsemane teaches us something we do not like. What was built in “living room” intimacy will be tested in public pressure. Everything Jesus received in Bethany is now being proven in Gethsemane.

And here is the moment that changes everything. Jesus prays, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

That is not an easy prayer, if you mean it. That is surrender under strain. That is what it sounds like when purpose costs you something. That is standing in the face of betrayal, navigating amongst enemies, suffering in silence, and spending sleepless nights with tears saturating your face. That is what it looks like when obedience hurts, but you choose it anyway.

Where God Reveals His Glory

This pattern of darkness did not start in the New Testament. God has always revealed Himself in dark places.

When Israel stood at Mount Sinai, God descended in thick darkness. “Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:21).

When Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of God filled a cloud so dense that the priests could not stand. “The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness” (1 Kings 8:12).

Darkness was never the absence of God. It was often the covering of His glory. We fear dark seasons because we cannot see clearly. But Scripture shows that God often hides His greatest work in places we cannot control.

Evening Is an Encounter

Bethany and Gethsemane are not just places, they are experiences that happen in the evening. One fills you. The other presses you.

The Old Testament shows us that darkness is where God reveals His glory. The New Testament shows us that evening is where God prepares His people.

Put it together and you will see the pattern. God meets you in the evening to reveal Himself in your darkness.

You will have Bethany moments. Times of peace. Times of clarity. Times where God feels close and everything makes sense. You will also have Gethsemane moments. Times of pressure. Times of silence. Times where obedience feels heavy. Both are necessary encounters with God.

Now What?

People often tell me, “You have to rest.” And rest is important when the time is right. Do not use it as an excuse to run from your evening seasons. If you are in Bethany, receive it. Rest. Listen. Let God fill you without guilt. And if you are in Gethsemane, endure it. Pray. Surrender. Trust that God is doing something deeper than you can see.

And if you feel like you are in darkness, remember this: God has always chosen dark places to reveal His glory.