TRUSTING GOD IN THE DARK

 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In March of 2006, Toni and I were in the midst of one of the darkest periods of our lives. We had suffered a series of deep wounds that had left us both as broken as we have ever been. We were devastated and defeated. We felt misunderstood, betrayed, abandoned, and isolated. To be candid, I didn’t know if I could go on and I was ready to give up.

One evening in our darkness and despair, Toni and I decided to get out of the house and take a walk around our neighborhood. It’s a 2-mile circular trek around a series of six cul-de-sacs. We were pretty quiet through the first two cul-de-sacs when one of us said, “God has not abandoned us. Where have we seen Him in all this mess? What have we seen Him do in us and for us in the last three months?”  We began quietly recounting all the ways our gracious Lord had revealed Himself to us, sustained us, delivered us, provided for us, and worked in us in the three months since everything began to fall apart. For the rest of our walk, we took turns reminding each other of God’s goodness to us in a period of time when people had not been. With each memory, our hearts got lighter as our praise began to drive out the darkness.

When we returned home, Toni quickly grabbed her computer and we captured what we had remembered on our walk. The result was a 7-page, single-spaced bullet-pointed list of praises, each story summarized in three lines or less. That night dramatically changed our perspective of the season we were going through. We began our walk that night in despair and we arrived back home full of courage and hope. Praise drove out the darkness! The situation we were in didn’t immediately change for the better, but our hearts did. We look back now and see that God used the trauma we endured to prepare us for the ministry of Forgiving Forward. Our pain was the fuel for our praise which ignited the future God had planned for us.

Remembering has always been an important part of our relationship with God. God had Israel establish memorial stones so that in future times of crisis they would be reminded of God’s past deliverances. The Passover commemoration was given to remind God’s people that the God of past miracles is still with them. When Jesus transformed the Passover celebration into the Celebration of Communion, He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Communion is often referred to as The Eucharist, which means ‘thanksgiving’.  When we remember how God has worked in our past trials, it changes our perspective on the present and instills hope for our future.

Paul wrote these words while chained to a centurion soldier in a Roman prison from which he would ultimately be beheaded. From a basic human perspective, this was not a good situation. Yet here is Paul’s perspective:

“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the Gospel.” Philippians 1:12

Later he said:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

The key phrase here is “The Lord is near.” He can be found in the middle of even the most painful struggles of our life, even a Roman prison. When we look for God, we find His peace.

Thanksgiving finds us this year with a lot to be concerned about. Inflation is the highest it’s been in decades with no end in sight. Politically our nation is as divided as it’s been in my lifetime and the moral decline in our nation seems unprecedented. On top of all this, families are facing dark times of physical illness, emotional traumas, and relational conflict. Yet in the midst of it all, God is still near. A. W. Tozer said, “God constantly encourages us to trust Him in the dark.”

As we gather together with family and friends for Thanksgiving, don’t just praise God for all the obviously good stuff, look for the praise in the pain. When you do, you’ll discover His light in the darkness. 

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Happy Thanksgiving,

Bruce and Toni