Chambers' text found here in the original English, and here in the modern English.
The Scripture passage for today is
Matthew 10:27: What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. This is another one of Chambers' barn-burners, so if you haven't read it yet, please do. What he says about listening to God in the dark times of our lives is especially valuable, because those are the times when we are least likely to be quiet. We talk to God incessantly in a beseeching manner ("Get me out of here, Lord!"), or we talk to others ("Why is this happening to me?") or we talk to ourselves ("C'mon, you can get through this; just a little longer.") All of those conversations are okay, and most of them are effective coping mechanisms in dark times, but not if they're the predominant nature of our behaviors in the dark times.
When times get tough, the first thing we need to do is get on our knees, tell God what we're feeling/thinking/experiencing, and then spend time listening. "Listening to God" means two things: Reading His Word (the Bible, not books about the Bible) and meditating (sitting quietly just after reading the Bible.) No, most of the time we won't hear God audibly (few people do), but He uses the truths of Scripture to speak to us.
And don't forget, when He's silent in hard times, it almost always means we have all the information we need.
One last point: When we do hear from God in the dark times, we need to declare it publicly. Why? Because the things we experience are being experienced by thousands of others, and God often uses the life experiences of one person or family to speak to a multitude of individuals or families going through similar circumstances. To stay silent is to sentence them to unnecessary doubt and confusion.
So-Whats for Work: Most Western Christians believe the Bible only speaks to the private side of their lives. Not so! He who created the universe left most of the instructions for how best to tend it in the verses between Genesis beginning and Revelation's end.
So-Whats for Home: In dark times, families need to hear God together, not individually. Be sure you help your family approach God together in dark times.
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