A memory from my boyhood came to mind last week. I was 8 years old and for some reason, I woke up shortly after midnight. I got out of bed and walked down the hall through the darkness into the kitchen to discover, to my surprise, that my father was standing there in front of the open door of our refrigerator. He smiled at me as the light from the refrigerator illuminated his face. He asked, “Are you hungry?” I excitedly replied, “Yes!”

I followed my dad as he walked into our living room and started a fire in the fireplace. We returned to the kitchen where my father opened the refrigerator and took out a steak and cut it into strips, salting and peppering each strip of meat. I didn’t talk much since I was still groggy. I just stood there in my PJs and watched. After preparing the steak strips, we walked back into the living room where my dad split some firewood and stuck a strip of steak on the end of a piece of kindling, and handed it to me to roast. We took the next few minutes feasting on the steak and talking, man-to-man. 

That unexpected nighttime feast reminds me of God’s plan for many of you who are reading these words. He wants to meet you on those dark nights of your life when a feast is the last thing you would expect. As you walk forward through a dark experience, you will discover the Lord is already present waiting in that place, ready to meet a need you did not know how to fulfill.

That midnight feast with my father was not an isolated event. I lost count of how many times my father turned a disaster into a joyful experience. That is the nature of a loving father.

It’s been 65 years since I feasted with my father in the middle of the night. I’ve never forgotten that moment because it is one of those experiences that helped form a bond with my father and deepened my understanding of God’s love and care for each of us. 

The next time you find yourself stumbling in a dark place, don’t let the darkness overcome you. Keep moving forward in faith and you will meet the Lord in that dark place where you will discover He has something planned that will become a memorable faith-building experience.