Hope in the Night (A 30-Day Reflection of the Word of God)

First Night: Why am I in the Dark?

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by."
- Psalm 57:1

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Reflection:

When the pandemic broke in the Philippines and everyone were isolated inside their houses, I felt that nothing changed inside ours. My siblings and I were all comfort zone lovers. We loved to just lounge inside our house, do whatever interests us inside, and just read, sing, or dropping by our social media from time to time.

But there were many people who were not used to that kind of life. There were people who preferred to be outside, seeing friends, partying, shopping, walking around the streets and just being busy. And when they were cornered, they would see nothing but darkness in their lives. As the quarantine goes on nation-wide, many started to ask: "Why am I in the dark?"

King David wrote Psalm 57 when he fled from Saul into the cave. Now, you would probably think he was alone in this chase. Scripture revealed he was not. When Saul attempted to persecute David to death because of jealousy, David left and hid in a cave with 400 men and in 1st Samuel 22:1-2, they were described as men in distress, in debt and discontented.

Perhaps, if you were in David's shoes, you would lament to God — hopeless and completely defeated, leading a bunch of people that could never shift your perspective in a better light and instead bring you down even more to the darkest corner of your life.

But David wrote Psalm 57 neither as a Psalm of Lament nor a Psalm of Thanksgiving. Rather, he wrote this in the midst of the contradiction of his circumstances to God's promises. He didn't deny his situation (vv. 1, 4, 6); he refused to allow his soul to wallow in such place of despair. Instead, he chose to declare God's true nature and character. He chose to praise God. He chose to remind his soul of who God is — a God who fulfills His purposes (v. 2), a God who saves (v. 3), and a God of faithfulness and steadfast love (v. 2, 10).

Even though David's spirit is brought down by his circumstances (v. 6), he still managed to remind himself of what he knows to be true about God. This made David declare in verses 7-9, "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations."

A cave is a dark place where it can be a safe haven or a trap. In life, a cave is where you were cornered by everything that had happened in your life. It could be your comfort zone or your unwanted isolation. You will have to live with "400 men" inside that cave. It could be your family, your friends or your personal burdens. They could be in distress, living in debt, or they could be discontented in their lives. These could be things that brought you down physically, emotionally or mentally.

Perhaps, you were in a corner where you chose to ignore the darkness within and around you until it piled up, and eventually, you broke down and unable to stand. Every trial you faced is like the night of each day. You were in the dark.

You never knew what to do with your problems and/or those people. And there were points in time when you started to lose hope.

But in all these things, lift your eyes to God just as David lifted his. When you set your eyes upon Him, your heart will be able to change.

Darkness could be a perfect training ground for the endgame of whatever God is planning for you. Joseph, who was thrown into a pit, was in his own darkness before God lifted him and brought him to Egypt — bringing all his dreams to come to pass. Just like Joseph and David, you can also cling to the true nature and character of God.

This may not be easy, but choose to believe and cling to His promises knowing that He can and will deliver you from whatever uncertainties and despair you were in. Instead of being suspicious of God, let's lift our praises to Him because praise may not change our circumstances, but it will definitely change our hearts and attitude towards life.

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Prayer:

LORD, my God, thank You for reminding me that I am neither forsaken nor forgotten. You see me in this darkest part of my life, and You will deliver me into Your light in Your own time and purpose. Even Your Son Jesus Christ experienced the darkness during His burial in the tomb just as I experienced darkness as well. But that tomb wasn't the end of His story. I choose to believe it won't be the end of mine, too. Shine Your light upon the night of our trials, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.