Worshipping Through The Darkness

It is difficult to worship freely when darkness is thick in your life. It may be a personal tragedy or a cultural train wreck that has you groping for stability and a clear line of communication and worship with God. The heart hesitates to sing when evil is so thick you could cut it with a knife. When defeat hangs in the air, it can easily draw our attention from the victory that awaits, and is even already present.

We cannot wish the dark away. We can’t pray it away. We can’t outrun it. But the good thing is, we don’t have to. The dark is subservient to the light. So when God is in us, darkness is overpowered… even when it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. 

In the beginning was God. He created the heavens and the earth. Then, because of rebellion, darkness flooded the space. With one word, God created light. Darkness did not cease to exist. It just had to obey the light. God divided the darkness and light. He determined that it would have its boundaries.

Today darkness still has boundaries. It still exists, but it has boundaries. King David put it this way, “Even the darkness is not dark to You (God). The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.” (Psalm 139:12) If God dwells in us, His light gives us the same experience. 

So as you worship today, I would not diminish the fact that there is darkness in your life and in our world. These are truly dark days in the world. But the darkness is not dark to God. It shines like the day. Open your eyes, lift your hands, worship with all your heart the One who is the origin of all light, and watch the darkness become invisible.

The apostle James wrote to the early church, “Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers. Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the first fruits of His creatures.” (James 1:16-18)

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

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