Worship In The Dark

We are tempted to quickly believe God changes when trouble comes our way.  This is not only false, it is short sighted.  Since the Creator has no beginning or end, and since he cannot lie, he is (to quote the writer of Hebrews) the "same, yesterday, today, and forever"
(Hebrews 13:8) This is important for us to understand, since Christians are not exempt from difficulties. While we live in this flesh and on this earth, it rains on both the sinner and the saint.

Unfortunately, when troubles come, the first reaction can be to doubt the Creator.  "Why would God let that happen?"  Yes, it's true.  God gets a bad rap.  But, God has promised us that he always remains loving, kind, and great in patience.  Even when he comes in the final judgment, he will still remain loving, kind, and patient.

God does not change.  Therefore, worship is due him, even when we are in the dark places of our lives.  Unfortunately, the Enemy of our souls wants to divert our attention so that we focus on the problem, instead of on Almighty God.  But, we are not the only ones who have experienced this tug-of-war.  Four men in the Bible are great examples to us:  King David, Job, Paul, and Silas.  After horrendous problems hit them, they worshiped God.

King David's child died even after he fasted and prayed (2 Samuel 12)  Instead of making a complaint to God or doubting God, David worshiped (2 Samuel 12:20)  His focus on who God was, even while fasting, helped him to keep a clear head.  When asked why he suddenly rallied and went to worship God, he said about his son, very logically I might add, "Can I bring him back again?  I will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23)

It can be argued that no one went through more than Job.  He lost his family (except for his wife), his wealth, and even his health.  His loses make most people's problems seem minor, yet he worshiped (Job 1:20) "Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God (Job 1:22)  He decided to trust God in a very dark place.

And who can forget the prison scene with Paul and Silas?  Mercilessly beaten and shackled in a dark and filthy prison, they lifted their voices in praise to God (Acts 16:22-26)  In this case, the prison was shaken and they and the other prisoners found themselves liberated from the hold of the jail.

What was it that these men actually did?  The looked toward the light in the midst of the darkness.  That Light is God.

Let me illustrate it this way:  If I go into a dark room, I will flip the switch to light the room.  The worship of our gracious Lord is, in essence, flipping on the switch.  it is bringing to our lives the truth of who God is, no matter what.  I could go into the same room and struggle in the dark.  I could cry and stumble around, saying things like, "God, why did you let this happen?" or I could flip the switch.  That is exactly what we do when we begin to express who God is, even when things look dark.

The Apostle Paul made a powerful statement that we must remember when bad things happen.  "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ."  (Philippians 3:8)

We can worship God in the dark.