Psalm 74:16 “The day is yours, and yours also the night”
Anyone experiencing some dark days? You know God is good and sovereign. He created all there is. He can do anything. The psalmist tells us he created the day, and also the night. Ah, yes. Therein lies the rub. Those dark nights.
I have to admit, the darkness surrounding the pandemic, the elections and overall turmoil in the world has side-tracked me. If I’m not careful, I can forget the night also belongs to the Lord. He created the order of the universe with cycles of day and night. And since sin entered, we all experience rounds of both light and darkness in our lives.
Psalm 74 laments the destruction taking place in Jerusalem. Their enemies have overrun them. Enemies that hate them and mock God. The psalmist’s brutal honesty shocks our ears. We belong to you, God, so why are you rejecting us? Why are you letting us be crushed? How long will you allow the bad guys to keep winning? A dark night in Israel’s history indeed.
But before the psalmist gives in to total despair, he recalls God’s power (v.12-17) and faithfulness (v.19-20). He remains Lord of all creation, the day as well as night. Through the good and the bad. No matter how deep the darkness, his faithfulness promises light will return.
When shadows threaten to overwhelm us, we need to remain as diligent as a night watchman. Satan tries to take advantage of us when we can’t see what lies ahead. He wants us to focus on the injustice, the disappointment, the magnitude of defeat. The more we dwell on the darkness, the more we veer off the purposes of the Lord. Purposes that include coming out of the darkness shining a brighter light.
If you’re experiencing a dark night of the soul, know you are not alone. Some giants of the faith have plummeted into the darkness and come out on the other side, people like St. John of the Cross, C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer. One day we will live in the presence of the Father of lights in a place where there will be no more night (Rev. 22:5). But until then, take heart.
Stay steadfast, my friend. Morning will dawn.