September 21, 2023 — Psalm 142

“With my voice I cry to the LORD; with my voice I make supplication to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit is faint, you know my way. In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look on my right hand and see—there is no one who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for me. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Give heed to my cry, for I am brought very low. Save me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. Bring me out of prison, so that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me,for you will deal bountifully with me.”

We all prefer to live in the abundance of G-d’s grace, but from time to time we get ourselves into dark places. “Dark places” can be a lot of different places: the pit, the prison, the desert, the wilderness—these dark places can be good training for believers. Joseph had a prison; Moses had the desert; Jeremiah had a pit, Daniel had a den, Paul was in and out of jail so many times, like Motel Six, they “kept the light on for him.” Even Jesus had a wilderness. Every believer gets their time in the “dark places” of life.

What can we learn from the dark places of life? Abraham Lincoln’s life may be a good example of what can come of the dark experiences of our lives — where a truly deep dark night requires an extraordinary development in life. With his early life surrounded by death and loneliness President Lincoln was a seriously melancholic man who, throughout the Civil War, dealt with his many “dark nights of the soul”. Yet, in spite of his dark times, he became an icon of wisdom and leadership. He once said, “If there’s a worse place than hell, I’m in it.” But, with his faith, and his courage, these experiences became the ground out of which his leadership grew.

If each of us are brave enough to face these dark places, and learn to trust G-d fully, then these dark places may just reveal how much work G-d has done in preparing us for even greater things.

Let us Pray:

God our refuge, when friends have forsaken us and enemies line all our paths, come quickly to our aid. Lead us out from captivity into the light of your freedom, secured for us in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Pastor Dave