WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Think of Jesus in his last days as you reflect on this psalm. It’s almost certain that he did!

In the dark
I remember years ago learning how to operate a photographic dark room. I still recall the complete absence of light, and how disconcerting it was to be in inky blackness for 20 minutes straight! It helps me to get into the psalmist’s bleak experience.

It’s not uncommon for God to keep his children in the dark about his ways (v 3). Often we feel abandoned in the most difficult times. The danger is that in the darkness we may succumb to the feeling of being betrayed by God and then abandon him.

God is enough
The psalmist pleads for a sign that he is not abandoned, lost in a tangled inner world without the guiding comfort of God’s presence (vs 1,2). Notice that resolution is not found in a sudden blaze of illumination, but in the patience that real faith and trust demand (v 5).

This patience is borne from the memory of the goodness of God. God has been good in the past and never failed (v 6). He is enough!

Respond: What do you do when the heat is on and the way ahead is dark? God can hear you pleading for light. You are not alone. Ask God for patience. Reflect on how God has been your salvation in the past. Remember how much you have grown in times of trial. Then look up and step forward. Whatever you do, do not let go of God.

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-03-25