by Sheldon L. Malone: 6/11/2013: Read: 2 Cor. 4:17-18
At one point in my life, photography was one of my favourite pastimes especially during Navy deployments with port visits to foreign locations overseas. The landscape, architecture, and general scenery in many of these ports often produced amazing photos that captured the heart of the culture on film at the time.
However, it has been amazing to watch the evolution of photography shifting from large bulky cameras with huge flash attachments, to the pocket-sized digital cameras that now allow one to not just point and shoot with a pop-up flash installed giving the ability to immediately see and enjoy photos in a matter of seconds.
For nostalgia’s sake I actually still possess one of the older camera models, the Canon EOS Rebel, with interchangeable zoom lens that requires the loading of 35mm film to take photographs. But it almost seems archaic to use this type of camera with so much simpler and easier to use modern technology available. Yet, even in discussing something as simple as this, there’s a spiritual lesson that can be learned from the older technology.
In the process of utilizing film photography, light is reflected off of an object and then recorded through the lens of the camera onto a piece of plastic coated with a “light-sensitive” chemical solution. And unlike the instant availability of images from today’s digital cameras, the images on film could only be viewed once the entire roll was removed from the camera and developed.
The key to developing pictures taken on film is the use of a darkroom. This room is designed to prevent any light from coming in, because any exposure to light during the process before the film was fully developed could literally destroy any image contained therein. So it could be said, the darker the room the better the quality of the photograph.
But in order for the photographer to see while in the darkroom, a special “red” light is required; a light that does not adversely affect the chemical process required to develop the film thereby allowing clear, quality photographs to be produced.
Many of us as believers in Christ are like camera film in a darkroom that is representative of the difficult and trying instances that we often go through that are designed to bring out the gifts that are deep inside, yet we often find it difficult to understand why we go through what we go through at any given moment in time.
In these instances, many begin to question God asking “Why am I as a child of the Light constantly being placed in dark areas with seeming chaos and confusion all around me? Why do I have to struggle so much? And when will life get better for me?”
I can hear God responding in the spirit saying, “My child, there is no need to fret because the things that you are going through are simply designed to develop you.”
The Apostle Paul made the above point very plain and evident in his epistle to the Corinthian church when he said “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. Things that are seen don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That's why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen” [2 Cor. 4:17-18 [CEV]]. The very thing that many of us consider a hindrance or obstacle is often the very thing that God may be using to develop the gifts that He has placed on the inside of us.
When we are in our darkest moments, the red light (or the red blood of Christ) is what allows us to go through the development process so that we come out as a quality, unblemished picture that can be seen by all around us. “Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you” [2 Cor. 3:2 [NLT]]. This in turn gives us a testimony that will also benefit someone else later because our testimony is what allows us to overcome [Rev. 12:11].
So, rather than getting frustrated and upset about your present situation and/or circumstance, allow God to develop you in the darkroom so that others may see His glory in the picture that is produced, because as that old saying goes “Trouble don’t last always!” The darker the circumstance, the more powerful the testimony!
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it” [1 Cor 10:13 [MSG]].
© Copyright Sheldon L. Malone, 2013
However, it has been amazing to watch the evolution of photography shifting from large bulky cameras with huge flash attachments, to the pocket-sized digital cameras that now allow one to not just point and shoot with a pop-up flash installed giving the ability to immediately see and enjoy photos in a matter of seconds.
For nostalgia’s sake I actually still possess one of the older camera models, the Canon EOS Rebel, with interchangeable zoom lens that requires the loading of 35mm film to take photographs. But it almost seems archaic to use this type of camera with so much simpler and easier to use modern technology available. Yet, even in discussing something as simple as this, there’s a spiritual lesson that can be learned from the older technology.
In the process of utilizing film photography, light is reflected off of an object and then recorded through the lens of the camera onto a piece of plastic coated with a “light-sensitive” chemical solution. And unlike the instant availability of images from today’s digital cameras, the images on film could only be viewed once the entire roll was removed from the camera and developed.
The key to developing pictures taken on film is the use of a darkroom. This room is designed to prevent any light from coming in, because any exposure to light during the process before the film was fully developed could literally destroy any image contained therein. So it could be said, the darker the room the better the quality of the photograph.
But in order for the photographer to see while in the darkroom, a special “red” light is required; a light that does not adversely affect the chemical process required to develop the film thereby allowing clear, quality photographs to be produced.
Many of us as believers in Christ are like camera film in a darkroom that is representative of the difficult and trying instances that we often go through that are designed to bring out the gifts that are deep inside, yet we often find it difficult to understand why we go through what we go through at any given moment in time.
In these instances, many begin to question God asking “Why am I as a child of the Light constantly being placed in dark areas with seeming chaos and confusion all around me? Why do I have to struggle so much? And when will life get better for me?”
I can hear God responding in the spirit saying, “My child, there is no need to fret because the things that you are going through are simply designed to develop you.”
The Apostle Paul made the above point very plain and evident in his epistle to the Corinthian church when he said “These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. Things that are seen don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That's why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen” [2 Cor. 4:17-18 [CEV]]. The very thing that many of us consider a hindrance or obstacle is often the very thing that God may be using to develop the gifts that He has placed on the inside of us.
When we are in our darkest moments, the red light (or the red blood of Christ) is what allows us to go through the development process so that we come out as a quality, unblemished picture that can be seen by all around us. “Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you” [2 Cor. 3:2 [NLT]]. This in turn gives us a testimony that will also benefit someone else later because our testimony is what allows us to overcome [Rev. 12:11].
So, rather than getting frustrated and upset about your present situation and/or circumstance, allow God to develop you in the darkroom so that others may see His glory in the picture that is produced, because as that old saying goes “Trouble don’t last always!” The darker the circumstance, the more powerful the testimony!
“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it” [1 Cor 10:13 [MSG]].
© Copyright Sheldon L. Malone, 2013
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