Finding the Light in a Dark Place

*This blog post was originally a sermon that I preached at Welch College chapel on February 1, 2019

Anyone familiar with the book of Psalms knows that you often hear the heart cry of suffering saints within it. It is not unusual to read of the Psalmist questioning God and asking that simple and yet profound question, “Why? Why am I suffering?”  I was a pastor for 33 years, and in that time, I saw many different types of suffering.  I am sure there are many in this room today who are dealing with hurt of one kind or another.  As a wise old preacher, Joseph Parker, once advised a group of ministry students, “Preach to broken hearts, there is one on every pew.  You will never want for a congregation.”

I think Psalm 43 gives us a way to find the light when we are in a dark place.

To me, the metaphor of darkness captures the mood of what it is like when we suffer.  I think this is underlying the wording of verse 3 where the Psalmist pleads with God, “Oh send out Your light and Your truth!”  Just what do you do when everything in your life is overshadowed by some problem, a problem that seemingly will not go away? 

Before I launch into the Psalm, let me assure you that I have dealt with and am currently dealing with my share of suffering.  Beginning in November, 2014, I began to fall down.  I fell about once a month until I found myself seeing my doctor.  He sent me to a neurologist who did a whole battery of tests with the outcome that I was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition called Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD).  You have probably never heard of it because it is about three times rarer than Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or ALS.  The simplest way to put it is that small areas of my brain are dying, and I will probably lose the ability to walk, to talk, and perhaps to reason.  There is no treatment.  It is a degenerative disease which means it will steadily get worse over time and averages 6 to 8 years from onset to death.

This news put me in a very dark place.  I began to look for some flicker of light, and at least part of that is what I want to share with you this morning.  Just how do you find light in a dark place?  From Psalm 43 I find three principles which have helped me, and I am confident can help anyone who finds himself in the shadowland of suffering.

First, you must talk to God, even though it seems He is not listening.  This comes from verses 1 and 2.  Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!²For You arethe God of my strength; Why do You cast me off?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”  Note two things here.  When you talk to God, get right to the point and be honest with God about how you feel.  The Psalmist puts his appeal in the emphatic position by saying first and forcefully, “Vindicate me.” 

What the Psalmist wants is for God to act as his advocate.  Eugene Peterson paraphrases this, “Clear my name!”  Why?  What was the Psalmist’s particular problem?  There were deceitful and unjust men causing him grief.  

Let’s face it, people problems have been with us ever since Cain and Abel!  As Matthew Henry puts it, “As long as there are such bad men out of hell, and nations of them, it is not strange that good men, who are yet out of heaven, meet with hard and base treatment.”  The Psalmist though is honest enough to say that it seems like God is not listening. This is what verse 2 is all about. He had called God his “strength.” The Hebrew behind that word could be translated “strong hold,” a reference to the most secure place within a fortified city, and yet he is “mourning because of the oppression of the enemy.”  Once again, the Hebrew rendered “oppression” in this verse is elsewhere “meager rations.” What is meant by this contrast?  I think the Psalmist is saying he expected more from God!  Now, I don’t suppose there is anyone present today that would say you believe in the “prosperity gospel,” the idea that God guarantees his children health, wealth, and happiness, but most of us do wonder why the Lord doesn’t immediately put an end to our suffering when we ask Him to.  I’ll be honest enough to say I have wondered that myself.  I have certainly prayed for healing, and a friend told me that I am probably on more church prayer lists than anyone in Cheatham County!

I fear too many of us have what might be called a “vending machine” concept of God.  We have put our “money” (church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, service, and, yes, tithes) in the slot, and God is refusing to give us what we have punched into the key pad!  When that happens with a real vending machine, I tend to bang on the side of it and mutter under my breath.  Are we guilty of doing the same thing with God?  Perhaps this is why the Psalmist says he feels “cast off” and goes about “mourning.”  Yes, it can seem like God is not listening, but like the writer of this Psalm we must have enough faith to talk to God anyway.

Second, you must follow God, even though you don’t know where He will take you.  This is based on verse 3, “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.”  This is a prayer for divine guidance.  Once again to quote Peterson’s paraphrase, “Give me your lantern and compass; give me a map so I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of your presence.” We need the Lord to point the way, or better yet, to take us by the hand and lead us.  This will deal with the sense of alienation from God that we feel when we suffer.  As one of the ancient commentators wrote, “Send your light and overcome my shadows.  Send your truth and conquer the lies that surround me!”  

And just what does God’s light and truth look like? It looks like Jesus!  He is the light of the world and the very personification of truth.  When we follow His example, study His Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to apply it to our hearts, we will indeed have divine guidance.  

Beyond this truth is the fact that as God’s children we have a responsibility to take God’s light and truth to a dark and confused world.  I am confident that this is why the founders of Welch College made “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth” the school motto.  You will find those word inscribed in English, Hebrew, and Latin on Coffman Hall.  Let’s make it more than just an inscription!  Let’s make it our mission!

I qualified this point with “even though you don’t know where He will take you.”  Yet the text seems to answer that He will take us “to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.”  This is the ultimate destination, but the route God uses to get us there is not stated.  The truth is that the Lord may have to take us over some rough terrain to get to where we should be.  It will take courage to make the trip.  

Finally, you must worship God, even though you don’t feel like it.  These truths are found in verses 4 and 5: “Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God. ⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”  The Psalmist rejoices in God, declaring the Lord to be “my exceeding joy.”  Note also that he refers to the Lord as “my God.” It is not simply “God” but rather the God whom he had a personal relationship with, “my God.” 

Still, as I said we must worship even though we don’t feel like it.  The Psalmist is quite frank, admitting his soul is “cast down” and “disquieted.” That would be enough to keep most people from worship.  I am not sure that I know all the reasons for this resistance to worship when suffering.  Perhaps it is because we associate only positive, uplifting emotions with worship. Whatever the reason, like the Psalmist we must get a hold on ourselves and come to the altar.

Talk to God, follow God, worship God; that is the way to find the light in the midst of your darkness.  All of us will be broken hearted from time to time, but God is saying through this Psalm that He can and will send light and truth into your life.  I think with most of us that means the clouds will part and light will come back into our lives in the here and now, but for some it won’t.  Oh, those will still see the light and glory in the truth, just not in this life.  One of the lies that the Devil sells, and the world buys, is that death is always defeat. Don’t you believe it!  Death, for the child of God is a time where he or she will be able to talk to God face to face, follow God down the streets of heaven, and worship God for all eternity.  This is part of what Paul meant when he wrote, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Now, I would prefer in my case for some sort of divine intervention, a medical miracle that would extend my life.  I am confident that God could do that, if it were His will.  But what if it isn’t?  To use the biblical phrase, I have “set my house in order.”  All of us are going to die.  I may just have a hint about the particulars of my departure more than you do about yours, and I am ready to go.  Not because of any merit on my part but because of the amazing grace of God.  I wonder, could you say the same?