Scripture
Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. 2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
Psalm 88:1-2 NIV
Question
How might you needs God's grace today?
Psalm 88
Darkness
Darkness is my closest friend. That’s the last line of Psalm 88.
Pick up your Bible, turn to Psalm 88, and read the whole thing. Read it aloud. Then come back to this devotional reflection.
There are metaphors we use when we talk about times of suffering in our lives that we must endure: storms, valleys, etc. And in this psalm, there’s the metaphor of darkness. And darkness is a good metaphor for suffering.
But what kind of prayer ends like this? How can this be in the Bible? Perhaps it’s there to teach us that even believing people can experience darkness in their lives.
Verse 1 says, “ You are the God who saves me.” So, we know this is written by a person who is trusting God as Savior.
You can trust God and still experience darkness. This shows the realism of the word of God. Jesus said (in John 16): "In this world you will have trouble.” And we have all experienced it.
Pick up your Bible, turn to Psalm 88, and read the whole thing. Read it aloud. Then come back to this devotional reflection.
There are metaphors we use when we talk about times of suffering in our lives that we must endure: storms, valleys, etc. And in this psalm, there’s the metaphor of darkness. And darkness is a good metaphor for suffering.
But what kind of prayer ends like this? How can this be in the Bible? Perhaps it’s there to teach us that even believing people can experience darkness in their lives.
Verse 1 says, “ You are the God who saves me.” So, we know this is written by a person who is trusting God as Savior.
You can trust God and still experience darkness. This shows the realism of the word of God. Jesus said (in John 16): "In this world you will have trouble.” And we have all experienced it.
What else can we learn in this psalm? We learn that dark times are the best times to learn about the grace of God. The psalmist is upset, and in the deep darkness he doesn’t believe God has ever been there for him. Now he’s wrong.
God has been there for him, but when we are in times of persistent darkness, we can feel that way.
The fact that this psalm is in scripture is a witness to God’s presence and God’s understanding in our lives.
This is the only psalm in the Bible that doesn’t resolve, that doesn’t come back from a place of disorientation to a place of reorientation. Take comfort that people of faith have read and prayed this psalm during incredible challenges and suffering.
Add this psalm to your prayers in the coming months and years. It is meant to help guide your heart to God—even when you can’t sense his presence—for those times you feel abandoned and can’t see light anywhere.
God has been there for him, but when we are in times of persistent darkness, we can feel that way.
The fact that this psalm is in scripture is a witness to God’s presence and God’s understanding in our lives.
This is the only psalm in the Bible that doesn’t resolve, that doesn’t come back from a place of disorientation to a place of reorientation. Take comfort that people of faith have read and prayed this psalm during incredible challenges and suffering.
Add this psalm to your prayers in the coming months and years. It is meant to help guide your heart to God—even when you can’t sense his presence—for those times you feel abandoned and can’t see light anywhere.
Prayer