"Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror {and} great darkness fell upon him."
"terror" in the Hebrew language is eymah, meaning dread, or horror, like that given by the presence of a king.
The teror of great darkness, according to commentator Matthew Henry tells us that "... children of light do not always walk in the light, but sometimes clouds and darkness are round about them. This great darkness, which brought horror with it, was designed."
The design might be that God is preparing us for harder times, and strengthening us for those times. It may be to help us see the darkness blot out the unnecessary baubles of life so that we might get our eyes back upon Him. It might be that in taking us through the valleys of the shadow of darkness, we can be ready to appreciate the light more.
This is a personal lesson for me right now. My back trouble is such that I must go back again to the doctor on Monday. This will be the fourth time in recent weeks, and the second time I will see a surgeon. It's hard to describe the frustration of having to lie on your back in the middle of the day in order to wait until the pain stops throbbing through your body. I often close my office door and do my mail and phone calls while flat on my back. Sometimes the agony is so great that my skin raises in chills. Last night was yet another bout, and I lay on the floor throughout the evening, staring at the wall.
Yet, in this time of pain, I've had time also to reflect and see how the Lord is causing me to stop and think. Jesus wants to get my attention back. When I was up and around, I tended to put Him in the back seat.
So, (I can hardly believe that I am saying this) but it's been good to endure this.
