When The Night Is Long

By Marty Goins and Teresa Goins

WHEN THE NIGHT IS LONG by Marty and Teresa Goins
While enduring long nights, rest seems unattainable and peace unfathomable. Worry, stress, fear, and anxiety fill your mind while tears fill your eyes. Believe it or not, it is during these long nights that God begins to draw you unto Himself. He is saying to you, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publish To Print
• Release date: Dec 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201941253

Book preview

FOREWORD

In an obscure night

Fevered with love's anxiety

(O hapless, happy plight!)

I went, none seeing me

Forth from my house, where all things quiet be…

-St. John of the Cross, The Dark Night of the Soul

St. John, a 16th-century mystic, penned these words to describe a period of crisis in our journey toward union with God.

As foreigners and pilgrims here on earth, our journey toward the heavenly places is full of climbs, of turns and struggles. At times our journey is bathed in sunlight, but we all recognize that at other times it takes place in St. John’s obscure night, the dark night of the soul where we encounter the fears and insecurities that are waiting to derail our spiritual experience.

It is not enough during these times to hold to a theoretical sola scriptura, scripture alone. In fact, it is only in these times that the theoretical becomes experiential. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path is how the Psalmist described it in Psalm 119:105. In times of darkness, it is Scripture that illuminates the path, even if only one step at a time.

However, in order to discover those spiritual lumines, we are instructed to meditate on those words, to consider them prayerfully where all things quiet be.

Marty and Teresa Goins have provided us with a timely devotional resource to help us achieve that spiritual calm, to point us away from temporal, man-made, self-help strategies and toward the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (Revelation 2:1).

I commend to you the work of Marty and Teresa. It will remind you that the old man is in the past and the new man is here now. It will reinforce that, by faith, we can cast off what so easily besets us and start over with new mercies every morning. It will help you start every day with a new beginning, not because of your innate potential, but because of Christ and Christ alone.

A Survivor of the Dark Night,

Craig S. Heath, Ed.D

INTRODUCTION

All of us have endured the darkness of a long night. It is at night when we finally place our heads on a soft pillow hoping to close our weary eyes—not so much to get rest, but to sleep and not think about what is going on in our lives: problems, worries, financial strains, and much more.

Teresa and I have been there many times. That is why we titled this book, When the Night is Long. It is during the stillness of a long night that our spirit comes alive, and the Holy Spirit connects with us. That is how this devotional was born. During those long nights, we were reminded of who He is, who we are, and of His unfailing love to us.

Our prayer is that each of these devotions will bring you to a place of peace, purpose, and a life of fulfillment in Him.

This devotional has been in the works since 2017. A couple of our close friends who knew what we were doing began to pray that God would open the door to have it published. Their prayers, encouragement, and friendship are a continual blessing in our lives. Pastor Amanda Friddell and Jenny Good have both been instrumental in seeing this work come to fruition. We are so thankful to them for their love and support. Also, we can’t leave out a special thank you to Cheryl Bell for helping us to get a large portion of these devotions retyped for the manuscript!

ACCEPTANCE

However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. John 6:37-39 (NLT)

I love these three verses! Jesus reassures us that when those the Father has given Him, come to Him, He will never reject them! I can’t even begin to tell you how many times over the years I have been worried and upset over people rejecting me. If I am being honest, I wondered if Jesus would reject me too, especially on those days when I was not at my best and even further away from Him than I had ever been. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about being rejected by Him because He said He would never reject us. He promised us if we would come to Him, He would not cast us aside. Too often, we draw a mental image of our Father that depicts a dad who is looking for us to get out of line so that he can whip us back into line. Someone once said, God will get you for that! You can believe that if you choose; however, I choose to believe that God will love me regardless of that. Paul said in Romans 8:38, Nothing can separate me from the love of God.  

PRAYER

Father God, thank You for Your Word today that reminds me that You love me, and You will never reject me when I come to You. How awesome and wonderful You are! Your love for me never ceases to amaze me. I love You Jesus, and I am so thankful that I will never be rejected by You! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

* Note to readers: You will notice throughout this book that there are prayers that are in italics; those are the prayers that I prayed over you, the reader. All other prayers are for you to pray for yourself.

Here is what the One who sent me wants me to do: I must not lose even one whom God gave me, but I must raise them all on the last day. John 6:39 (NCV)

In the previous verses (28-29), the people are asking Jesus what God would have them do. He tells them to just believe in the one He sent. But in verse 39, we see Jesus telling them what God wants Him to do. Before He was ever arrested, beaten, or crucified for us on the cross, He already felt a great sense of urgency when it came to us. He was and still is determined not to lose even one of us. We are His. We have been given to Him by our Father. As a result of our belonging to Him, He is desperately pursuing us.

Have you ever felt as if you didn’t matter or that no one would notice if you were there or not? I know I have felt that way at times. But the truth is this: you matter to Him; I matter to Him. He takes notice when you are not there with Him. He is very much concerned about you. He does not want to lose you. He will continue to pursue you until you are tightly held in His bosom. He loves you. Come to Him and you will find complete acceptance in Him.

PRAYER

Jesus, there are times and maybe even today is one of those times, when I feel forgotten and unaccepted, but I am going to choose today to believe Your Word that says You don’t want to lose me because God gave me to you. I know I can find complete acceptance in Your presence, so here I am. Thank you for embracing me in Your arms. In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

DISCOURAGEMENT

My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in! Psalm 22:12 (NLT)

We have all experienced times like the one described in this verse, times when we feel we are completely surrounded by opposition and adversaries. During these times, it is as if God has forgotten where we are, and we feel alone and abandoned. When David wrote this Psalm, he was prophesying about Jesus. He was prophesying concerning Jesus and His experience on the cross. As Jesus hung on the cross, His accusers––multitudes of them––gathered around Him and mocked Him, made fun of Him, and cursed Him. It was during this time that Jesus felt the loneliest He had ever felt. It was here that Jesus cried, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). One thing was sure, the Father had not forsaken Him or forgotten Him. We know how the story ends. We too should be encouraged. We have been promised, He will never leave us, nor forsake us, but go with us always … (Hebrews 13:5)! Although we may feel alone at times, the truth is, we are not! Jesus is always there!

PRAYER

Father, encourage those who feel alone and abandoned. Remind them of Your unfailing love and presence. Remind them that things are not as they appear. Help us to walk by faith and not by sight. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why are you discouraged, my soul. Why are you so restless? Put your hope in God, because I will still praise him. He is my savior and my God. Psalms 42:11 (God’s Word Translation)

Can you relate to this verse? I know I can relate to this verse very well. There have been many, many times when I have had to encourage myself in my walk with the Lord. I am so incredibly thankful for my husband who will pray with me, pray over me, and who encourages me every day. I am also thankful for my closest friends whom I can call no matter what time it is, pour my heart out to them, and cry buckets of tears while they encourage me, laugh with me, and pray for me. However, I believe there comes a time in our relationship with God that we must get past looking to others to encourage us during the hard times. We have to be able to reach out to Him, read His Word, and encourage ourselves, just as David did in the verse above. I am most thankful for my Lord and Savior, who is always faithful to meet me when I call out to Him. I am also thankful that as I begin to speak His Word over whatever situation I am facing, that He is gracious enough to bring His peace into my heart so that I can rest in Him and what He has planned for me. 

PRAYER

Father God, I pray for each one who is reading this devotion today, that You will meet them in the midst of their situation. I pray that You will encourage them as they speak Your Word over their lives.  I pray that You will give them the peace that only You can give so that they can rest in the plans that You have for their lives. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Psalms 119:37 (NLT)

How often in our lives do we find ourselves focusing on worthless things? Before we can answer that question, we need to understand what worthless things are. So, what would be considered worthless? I believe whatever we are looking to for fulfillment other than Christ Himself is worthless. What besides Christ are you looking to in hope it will fulfill you? Only you can answer that question.

I have found in my life when I look to others or things to bring fulfillment only Christ can bring, I find myself discouraged and living in a state of turmoil and anxiety. But as I begin to refocus my thoughts and attention on Him, what His Word says about me, and what His plans are for me, the turmoil and anxiety begins to subside. I am not saying the enemy does not try to get me to begin to look to worthless things for fulfillment, because he does. But what I am saying is that when he does try to distract me with those worthless things, I go back to my Father and I cry out to Him. I know who the Giver of Life is, and when I go to Him daily, I am not as easily distracted by worthless things that are meant to keep me in turmoil.

PRAYER

Father God, thank You for Your Word concerning me. I thank You that I can look to You for every concern, worry, need, desire, and want that I have. I thank You that as I look to You and seek You first, all of those things will be added unto me.  I thank You that as I keep my focus on You, that You will fulfill me and that You will give me life and give it abundantly. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all garbage, so that I could gain Christ, and become one with Him… Philippians 3:7-9 (NLT)

Why is it that the worthless things we have filled our life with, hoping they will fulfill us, are so incredibly hard to let go of, even if those things keep us separated from Christ? Paul was very well acquainted with worthless things. He really had a hard time letting go of them himself. It took being struck with blindness on the way to Damascus in order to finally let go of those things he had considered so important and with which he had found a level of fulfillment. On the road to Damascus, he turned away from the laws that were supposed to make him righteous to embrace the One who was and is the source of his righteousness.

Paul continues in verse 8 saying, not only those things, but all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. I wonder why Paul wasn’t more specific here. Maybe it is because he literally meant ALL THINGS. What would all things mean to you? Family, friends, job, church, spouse? Or could all things be regrets, shame, failures, and broken relationships? You fill in the blank. I have come to believe that it is because of my relationship with Christ Jesus, my Lord, that I am a better wife, mom, friend, and teacher. I have come to believe that I cannot be defined by things in my life that were meant to cause me to live the rest of my life with regret and shame. If anyone had regrets and shame, it would be Paul, and yet he came to understand that all of those things were worthless when compared to the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, his Lord. He knew that no matter what happened in his life, happy or sad, hungry or full, cold or warm, he had to have Jesus in his life. This is exactly how I feel. I have to have Jesus. I want Him. I need Him. I desire Him. All that other stuff is worthless without Him.

PRAYER

Father God, I love You. I ask You to give me mercy and grace in my walk with You. I ask as I go through my day, if my mind begins to think on worthless things, things that might separate me from You or that will take away my love, joy, and peace, that You with Your gentle hand will turn my eyes back on You.  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

...Yet Jerusalem says, The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us. Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she borne?  But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!  See I have written your name on the palms of my hands…" Isaiah 49:14-17 (NLT)

A couple of years ago, as we sat in a church service that was full of people, I looked around and said to the Lord, You have forgotten us. You have forgotten us.  Tears began to roll down my face uncontrollably. I was absolutely heartbroken because I was convinced that God had forgotten us. In this church full of people, not one person knew what we were struggling with. No one. To make matters worse, we felt alone, abandoned, and forgotten by the one who was supposed to love us more than anyone else. He had been so very quiet for such a long time. No matter how much we cried out to Him, He was silent. A few days after this church service, that all changed as I read Isaiah 49:14-16. That day, God reminded me that He had not forgotten us, and that He would never and could never forget us because He had written our names on the palms of His hands. Ever since that day, when I would hear the enemy say, He has forgotten both of you, the sweet Holy Spirit would bring back this scripture to my mind. I want to tell you today, no matter how alone, abandoned, or forgotten you may be feeling, it is not possible for Him to ever forget you because your name is written on the palms of His hands, too!

PRAYER

Father God, I have always heard that nothing is impossible for You, but this one thing! You will never forget me because my name is written on the palm of Your hands. What a comfort it is for me to know that no matter where I go or what I do, I will never be forgotten by the One who has given me life!  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

STRESS, WORRY, FEAR, & ANXIETY

Always be joyful in the Lord! I’ll say it again: Be joyful! Let everyone know how considerate you are. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Jesus Christ. Philippians 4:4-7 (GWT)

Be joyful? Be considerate? Never worry about anything? How is that even possible when our lives tend to be filled with chaos and tragedies both big and small? The answer is quite simple; seriously, it really is simple. It is our relationship with the Lord that enables us to be able live in joy, be considerate, and never worry about anything. The closer we are to Him, the less of an effect chaos and tragedies have on our lives. Yes, we can have all hell breaking loose in our lives and yet remain