Grace in the Darkness

Feeling down today?

Here, let me read you a positive, encouraging word from the scriptures:

The Psalmist declares:

“I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. 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. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths…

…Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?… You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.” 

-(Psalm 88:3-6, 14, 18)

This whole Psalm is one big Debbie Downer... Waaah, Waaaaaahhh!!!

It just ends like that, with no hope: 

“Darkness is my closest friend."

Uh... what? Why is this in the Bible? Is that supposed to encourage me?

Actually, I am really glad that there are scriptures like this in the Bible because it validates the experience of so many people who find themselves in a dark night of the soul.

Christians who experience this often feel deep shame and fear, and don’t feel safe talking about it. Why? Because we've often been trained to interpret this experience with the belief that we are somehow blowing it, that God is perhaps punishing us, and that if we were really spiritual, we wouldn’t have such experiences but would always be full of joy and charisma, always feel close to God, always have a positive "I can do it!" mentality, etc.

Strangely, particularly in the Protestant tradition, we have often eliminated the suffering and loneliness of the cross from our expected spiritual journey, so that we end up feeling guilty and surprised when it comes to us (see 1 Peter 4:12, 1 John 3:13). Triumphalist theology combined with an idealistic success narrative creates a mindset that doesn't have room for darkness or weakness, unless it's a mild kind that you can quickly fix.

Serving in the roles of pastor and chaplain, I’ve heard countless stories over the years of people who have walked through a dark night of the soul—sometimes lasting years— and felt terrifying doubts, wondered if God even exists, even walked away from faith because of it. I have been through a significant dark night myself, and I can say I understand why people walk away.

But the experience wouldn't be such a crisis if more people would admit that it's part of their journey, and that it's normal--even expected--that such times will come.

What’s so powerful about the scriptures is that they are so relatable to all the experiences of being human. A hopeless lament Psalm like this one shows that even if we experience such things, we are not outside the graces of God. For God’s grace does not depend on our ability to always perceive it, but on the character of who God is.

I read a few years ago that there are teeny, tiny particles of light that basically fill the entire universe, called neutrinos. They have almost no mass and no electric charge, and are very hard to pin down—sometimes called “ghost particles.” But even the deepest, darkest, emptiest space in the universe is filled with them.

If you hold your hand up to the sun for 1 second, a billion of them will pass through your hand. It’s this totally unperceived reality, yet it is everywhere. 

That’s the grace of God in Psalm 88.

I hope that encourages you, that whether or not you can perceive God’s goodness and grace in this moment, he promised to never leave or forsake us, and to be with us even to the end of the age.

You are never alone and never forsaken. Walk by faith, not by sight, because you can trust the Grace in the darkness.