HOW TO LIVE IN DARKNESS
Opening Prayer
Powerful God, renew me in Your generous nature. Today, may I express—not withhold—love to You and others.
Read PSALM 88
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“Jesus cried… ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?’” (Matt. 27:46). We talk about the joy of walking with the Lord, but there are difficult days. The psalmist was having one of those down times.
Our psalm expresses unrelenting despair, resonating with those who see no end to their distress. Generally, lament psalms include expressions of hope and trust (e.g., Psa. 3; 13), but this one never gets beyond the darkness. Suffering is a living death of hurt, grief and social isolation. More painful is the feeling of abandonment by God, the sense that he himself caused this affliction. The secular world sees faith as a crutch, but Christians know that belief in an all-powerful and loving God can create more anguish when we are confronted with suffering. Although the psalm feels like a personal expression of misery, the superscription suggests it may have functioned as instruction. (The Hebrew word maskil possibly means instruction.)
If so, what can we learn about living in darkness? First, giving voice to physical, emotional or psychological pain is not wrong. Christians can interpret despair and hopelessness as a lack of faith, but if we expect people to be positive all of the time then their grief cannot be processed. Suppressing anguish only drives unresolved pain deeper. If Israel used this psalm in liturgy, we can also learn that crying and sitting in pain with a sufferer has a place in the worship of God. Instead of a taboo there is openness; instead of stigma, acceptance.
The psalmist’s despair is not simply self-pity. Although he accuses God of causing his suffering, he paradoxically knows him as the one who saves (1). His questions (10–12) suggest that he has not forgotten God’s character. He is the God of “wonders,” a word associated with his powerful acts of salvation in the Exodus (Exod. 15:11). He is the God of “[covenant] love” and “faithfulness” (Exod. 34:6,7; Deut. 32:4). The psalmist does not experience these things, yet he holds on to a knowledge of God attested by God’s people. He is left in darkness, yet he has not given up talking to him.
Apply
What does the psalm teach us about spiritual darkness? What pointers does it give to help us overcome the experience of spiritual darkness?
Closing prayer
Lord, teach me to express my grief and pain well and allow others to do the same.
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