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When Darkness Hides God’s Face…and all hope
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? I have cried desperately for help, but still it does not come. 2 During the day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer; I call at night, but get no rest. Psalm 22:1-2 (TEV)
“When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay. ” (1)
There are days when I could be easily convinced that our present time is more oppressed than any other time in history. The traumas and tragedies just seem to keep coming, the days and week just seem to bring more people, dealing with more pain. It doesn’t matter whether the trauma is natural (i.e. getting older, physical or mental illness) or self-inflicted, or the oppression caused by another. (the latter two relate to the damage of sin and narcissism/self idolatry) The trauma exists, the pain is real, the tears and groans all too.. overwhelming.
If I look at the hymns of the past – whether the Psalms in Old Testament times such as Psalm 22, or hymns across the ages, I find the same weariness, the same brokenness, the same tears, the same despair.
And the same answer.
A God whom those who cry out to in despair, find themselves worshipping, praising, adoring, as they find rest, peace, and yes healing in God. I am not saying these battles are easy, or quick, for they never area. But the darkness that seems to hide God’s face, the overwhelming flood that seeks to destroy us, will not stand against God. It can’t, anymore than the gates of hell can hold against Christ’s incarnation. Even though there are days where it may feel like we cannot go on, it is God’s love that will sustain us.
For God has not hid himself, He always will be there, for He promised to, and His presence will sustain us.
The Psalm quoted above finds the one who questioned God’s presence finding resolution and finding God’s presence. Here is where the Psalm ends:
22 I will tell my people what you have done; I will praise you in their assembly: 23 “Praise him, you servants of the LORD! Honor him, you descendants of Jacob! Worship him, you people of Israel! 24 He does not neglect the poor or ignore their suffering; he does not turn away from them, but answers when they call for help.” 25 In the full assembly I will praise you for what you have done; in the presence of those who worship you I will offer the sacrifices I promised. 26 The poor will eat as much as they want; those who come to the LORD will praise him. May they prosper forever! 27 All nations will remember the LORD. From every part of the world they will turn to him; all races will worship him. 28 The LORD is king, and he rules the nations. 29 All proud people will bow down to him; all mortals will bow down before him. 30 Future generations will serve him; they will speak of the Lord to the coming generation. 31 People not yet born will be told: “The Lord saved his people.” Psalm 22:22-31 (TEV)
Likewise – rejoicing in the work of Christ, the hymn resolves,
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
May you find His faithfulness, His righteousness, His peace sustaining you this morning.. for it is there – and it always has been.
God’s peace is yours – because He has born our sorrows, our griefs, our sins, as He walks with us. For that is how Jesus, who was crucified for you, ministers to you as you journey with Him.
English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Even on Mondays.
(1) 2nd and 3rd verses of “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand”
Related articles
- The Tomb is Empty? Yeah! He is Risen and The Lord is With us! (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Worship for Barren and Empty Souls (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Meditation on Psalm 116 ~ Br. Scott Brown, Postulant (orderofpreachersrcc.com)
- Will Jesus find us trusting Him? (Evangelical Catholic Evaluation V) (justifiedandsinner.com)
The Source of Hope…
Devotional-Discussion thought of the evening….
There are days where it seems that what we do makes little difference, the flood caused by sin’s damage is too great, to overwhelming. No matter where you look in this world, we see the damage caused by sin, the brokenness, the wounded, even those we think are the perpetrators – yet are victims of sin’s bondage as well.
The tendency to drop into despair, to get depressed, to want to give in, give up is there. I’ve known those kinds of days
But surrendering to hopelessness is only one of the choices to make… there is another way to surrender ….
Seek union with God and buoy yourself up with hope—that sure virtue!—because Jesus will illuminate the way for you with the light of his mercy, even in the darkest night. (1)
You see, there is a blessing in the darkness – for in the darkness we find our exactly how much we need His light. We realize our helplessness, we realize we cannot make it, and we remember….. His Body, His Blood, broken and shed for us, the promise that we aren’t in the darkness, not meant to be there, but we belong in His glory, brought there in His mercy, because of His love.
We have to remember that, when the darkness seems to overwhelming, when the cares of the world cause anxiety, when we for the moment… forget His love…
Lord – Have mercy upon us, may we ever dwell in Your glory… and may we be confident, that we are never left by You, in the dark. AMEN!
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1192-1194). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Look Carefully How You Walk
Look carefully then how you walk!
Ephesians 5:5-21
† In Jesus Name †
God’s gifts of love and mercy are yours in Christ Jesus!
Look carefully then how you walk!
It was too bad, that I didn’t happen to read in my devotions back in February our epistle reading this morning. I left home that morning, having decided it would be a great habit to walk to the office each morning.
I will admit, as I left the house, my mind was in a couple of different places, and I wasn’t doing what Paul advised. Looking carefully then how I walked, o come on, this is Cerritos! About 150 yards from the house, the raised sidewalk and my foot confronted each other. In such that my knee and should a half second later met that sidewalk even more forcefully.
After getting through the maze of our medical system, I started therapy two weeks ago. Bbecause I hadn’t looked carefully at how I walked afterwards, I didn’t realize how odd my way of walking had become – because my left knee and hip were compensating for an much weaker right knee and hip. Literally one step I was taking was 2 feet shorter than the next, and imbalance from the damaged side having 40 percent of the strength of the other side. The “therapy” (I think that’s Greek for torture) will last a couple of months, rather than a week or two. I should have watched how I walked!
If it is important to watch where we are walk physically in this life, it’s more important to watch how we walk spiritually. As Paul describes our journey of faith in our reading, he mentions consequences that are worse than anything a physical therapist can do to torture us! The danger of walking with those who walk in darkness, partnering with them, allowing them to deceive us and draw us into their sin, is that it leads to suffering God’s wrath. Why would we risk that, in view of what awaits us with Him?
That is why Paul talks about looking carefully at how we walk! He urges us to analyze how we walk – and walk as those who are wise, and not unwise.
The Challenge of Walking in Darkness
Though I was walking in broad daylight when I wasn’t paying attention, how much harder is it to pay attention in the dark? How many of us, on a trip have tried to walk around in a strange house, or hotel room in the dark? Usually its because we woke up, need to use the restroom quickly, and we get out of bed and look like a fool as we walk into a chair, a couch, a wall! Which doesn’t make our body any less needing to go!
People wandering in spiritual darkness remind me of a children’s game – pin the tail on the donkey. Like the game, spiritually those in the darkness are spun around, and their ability to navigate is highly compromised! That’s what living life dominated in sin, and caving into our desires does. We can’t tell which direction we are supposed to be heading, and while we know where we would like to go, where we would like to be, we have no ability to get there! The journey is worthless, it does us no good, and indeed, that life is lived with more and more frustration, and less and less peace.
Even that which God writes in all hearts – the natural law which most people acknowledge, those directions to live life can’t be followed, for our hearts were hardened and in the dark confusion, our instincts for self-protection and for pleasure override common sense. Every religion, even atheism indicates that certain actions, certain attitudes are wrong and evil – yet those lost in darkness seem to choose them over and over. This is not to forget, that in the darkness, you can’t see who is talking, and it is easy to be deceived, to be seduced into a relationship that damages us, for it ignores the warnings God provides to keep us safe.
Wandering in the darkness, not a good idea…
Entering the Light is a Challenge!
There is a challenge though, for to not walk in the darkness means that we have to struggle learning how to deal with walking in the light! Which is easier said than done! When you were walking around in that dark house, and someone turned a bright light on, didn’t it take a little bit before you really could see?
As we awoke from our sleep, and arose from the dead because Christ’s light shown on us as it says in verse 14, we had to learn to walk spiritually, to walk with God. It is a whole different life, a complete change of how we do things, and to be honest, we need to remember that – it’s too easy to slip back into doing things the way the world does, its do easy to be deceived and enticed into sinful thoughts, and evil deeds. For this world encourages us to be narcissistic, to look out for #1, even to do things unethically and immorally, if it makes our life better, or is just more pleasurable.
As we walk in Christ, that life we see for what it is – evil, immoral, shameful, and we struggle even more! We see it for what it is, even as we “see” deeply into things that are not so visible, such as the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, and the benefit of hearing that our sins… our individual sins are forgiven, and we are cleansed from every sin and all unrighteousness.
We learn that the light shows us what to flee from, what to let God sever us from, cleanse us from, freeing us so that we can learn to live life with what is beautiful. It takes a little to get used to! We realize that being in the light is more a blessing, and less that which we should fear. We learn as well that analyzing how we walk is also a blessing – as we become wise, and we learn to redeem the time, to make it profitable, not in the world’s views perhaps, but definitely in Gods view.
Our lives encounter healing! God heals them spiritually with therapy that is not full of pain, but rather a feast that causes us to rejoice!
Walking in the Light
We can discern what is pleasing to the Lord
We can understand what the will of the Lord is
I love that Paul linked worship, in a variety of ways, to this idea of looking at how we walk in the light. As we sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to each other, giving thanks and praise to God the Father for everything, everything that has been poured out on us, by Jesus, because of Jesus, in the Name of Lord Jesus Christ.
Here is how praising God is link to walking in Christ light. Read with me the end of verse 8 and 9 – without what’s in parenthesis .
Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
And then in verse 17,
16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
What pleases God? What is His will, what does He desire above all? Peter tells us it is this:
3:9 The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, (desiring that no one would ) wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NJB)
And Paul guided by the Holy Spirit wrote:
2:3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (ESV)
As we realize that God’s desire is to have a relationship with us, to establish us as His people, to have us know that He will care for us! He cares as the best Father could care for His children, we find ourselves renewed, rejuvenated, relieved of burdens and sins. We come to trust that our journey is not just in the light of a star we call the sun, but in the light of God’s glory. That His promises are all true, that all things will work out for good, that He will never forsake us, nor abandon us. “Us” isn’t just the people in this room – it includes all who have heard of His love, and those with whom God has sent us to share His love!
As we realize that – we sing – we praise Him, from simple psalms like Jesus Loves Me and Change my heart o God, to incredible hymns like A Mighty Fortress and Just a Closer Walk with Thee, to the spiritual songs that call us to realize we dwell in the presence of God, that plead with God, confident that He will shine on us… each different yet coming from the same place – a place of joy, a place of peace, a place where hope is incredible.
For God would calls into His light, into His glory, into His peace which surpasses all understanding, even as Christ keeps our hearts and minds there…with Him. AMEN?
