The Gift of Darkness
Copyright: South Bay Community Church
Sermon Reflections: The Gift of Darkness
Date: 16 April 2023
Lead Pastor: Tammy Long
Sermon Reflections: The Gift of Darkness
Date: 16 April 2023
Lead Pastor: Tammy Long
Listen up: Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone).
Sermon Video: Soil cross section
Sermon Preamble
In this message, we are starting a new sermon series called "The Gift of Darkness." Our life journey comes with ups and down, highs and lows, joys and sorrows. We are either in a trial, heading toward a trial, or coming out of a trial. No one is immune. It should not surprise us because Jesus told His disciples that in this world, we will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. Last Sunday, we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection and overcoming the world! Then the church was born and rapidly increased as God added to their numbers daily. At the same time, trouble and darkness were gathering momentum. Some Jews wanted to eliminate followers of Jesus Christ because those Jews perceived followers of Christ as a dangerous sect and were threatened. Roman Emperors and officials also persecuted followers of Jesus. For the next 240 years, followers of Jesus were persecuted, hunted, captured, beaten, burned, whipped, stoned and fed to lions intermittently across the Roman Empire. Amid the joy of a Risen Savior, it was also a hard and dark season for the followers of Jesus. Through our trials, we can embrace the darkness, open the hidden treasures of darkness, and let God do God’s work in us. Then, transformed by God, we are able to work in coordination with God.
All of us have, are, or will face dark seasons in our lives
None of us are immune from dark seasons in our lives. Today we are dealing with relationship challenges, financial stresses, physical or mental health challenges, employment uncertainty, and aging realities. We also face questions about life purpose, crisis of faith, crisis of spiritual dryness, grief, life transitions, post-traumatic stress, and the list of dark seasons goes on.
In the dark season, often we cry out to God
Dark seasons touch us all, and we then question God. Sometimes we cry out to God. We may ask, God, what are you doing? How long, Lord? What am I supposed to do now? God, are you even here? God, please….
In the midst of darkness, God has a plan for us. It may be something God wants us to remember. It may be something Gods wants us to learn. It may be something God wants us to experience. God always has a plan, even in the dark seasons.
Isaiah 45:3 – With God there are hidden treasures in darkness
This passage is a prophetic word from Isaiah to the people of Israel while they were in Babylonian captivity. This chapter of Isaiah and the chapters surrounding it were God’s words of comfort to God’s people of Israel. Through Isaiah, God wanted the people of Israel to know that God had not forgotten them. God is offering words of hope. Their deliverance was coming.
God had chosen the ruler of Persia, Cyrus, to enact God’s plan. History calls him Cyrus the Great. Let’s look at the preceding verses to get the full context. “1This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again. 2This is what the Lord says: ‘I will go before you Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name’” (Isaiah 45:1-3).
God was true to this promise. Israel’s captivity formally ended in 538 BC, when Cyrus conquered Babylonia. Cyrus then gave the Jews permission to return to Palestine, and he was instrumental in helping them build the second temple. Cyrus obtained treasures from his conquest. Hiding treasure underground was common practice. According to the historian Pliny,
Cyrus obtained vast treasures of gold and silver.
There was a battle of nations and a battle of false gods. God anointed and empowered Cyrus. God gave Cyrus treasures hidden underground in darkness, so it would be known that Yahweh was the one true God and God of gods, not just Israel’s God.
This illustrates a truth that applies to us today, just as it applied literally to Cyrus. The truth is that there are hidden treasures in darkness. However, for you to recognize and receive these treasures, you must renew your mind about darkness.
The mindset that darkness is bad
For many, we have often accepted that dark is bad and light is good. Darkness has been associated with sin, evil, danger, despair, loss and bad guys in black hats. This thinking has devastatingly and detrimentally transferred to racial prejudices and biases; it is in our culture.
Part of the thinking that dark is bad is because we are uncomfortable in the dark. As humans, we don’t see well in the dark. Horror movies have scary things happening in the dark. Often, we don’t feel in control in the dark; we bump into things and get hurt. Evil doers use the cover of darkness to hide. All of those realities serve to make us wary of darkness.
Further some of our perspectives on spiritual darkness come from the Bible. We celebrate that Jesus is the light of the world. “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5). “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness” (Luke 11:34). “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing truth” (1 John 1:5-7). Notice that these passages are talking about spiritual darkness that is separate from or against God. But not all darkness is spiritual darkness against God.
Renewing our minds about darkness
A fuller understanding of darkness begins with God in creation. “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:2-3). Darkness was first, and God was there in the darkness. The Hebrew word translated “hovered” over the darkness is also translated as moved, meaning to “shake, flutter, or relax.” So this verse could be translated as God lived in, dwelled in, and relaxed in the darkness. God did not abolish darkness; God added light.
Consciously and subconsciously, we have made darkness a bad thing. What if we renew our minds, and think of darkness differently from God’s vantage point? “Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has said that He would dwell in a dark cloud” (1 Kings 8:12). “He made darkness his covering, His canopy around him – the dark rain clouds of the sky” (Psalm 18:11). “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (Psalm 97:2).
The truth about God in a thick cloud of darkness occurred when God engaged with God’s people after the Exodus in the wilderness. At Mt. Sinai, God told Moses that God’s presence would descend in a dark cloud on the mountain. Thunder roared and lightning flashed. “18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance…. 20Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid…’ 21The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:18, 20-21).
God dwells also in darkness not just to carry us through tough times. God dwells in darkness as much as God dwells in light because light and darkness are the same to God. David expressed how there was no place he could go to get away from God’s presence. “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:11-12).
Light and darkness are both used by God without being contradictory
In this sense, darkness is not bad. Light and darkness go together as surely as they do in the natural world. God set it up that way. Darkness and light are complimentary. The earth began as darkness. We are born in darkness. Darkness is essential for the survival of humans, animals, and plants. Scientists reference the importance of darkness in the sleep/wake cycle; the darker the better for a good night’s sleep. We need darkness to make our immune system work properly; in the dark, our bodies produce melatonin which helps fight disease. Darkness is not something we have to fear, avoid, or hurry up and get through.
We may not like the feelings of dark seasons in our life. They can be hard and painful. They can scare us. What if God is saying to us it is okay? God is perfectly comfortable in the dark. What if God is inviting us to change our mindset and embrace the dark with God? When we do, we may find, like Cyrus, hidden treasures in the darkness. The treasures may not be pounds of gold and silver, but still valuable treasure. God does amazing work in darkness! Just ask any seed. Sometimes when you are in a dark place, you think you have been buried, but you’ve actually been planted! As we go through this sermon series, we have planted some Marigold seeds as a reminder and object lesson. We will watch it germinate and grow, and we will be reminded that God is at work in every dark season of our lives. God is working things out for our good and God’s glory. One day we will have a personal testimony to share about treasures born in darkness.
See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w77zPAtVTuI&t=12s&ab_channel=GPhase
One of the treasures hidden in the darkness is God working on our behalf
In praising God we acknowledge truths, even when we don’t see it, God is working. Even when we don’t feel it, God is working. God never stops working. God’s work in the darkness is a hidden treasure in the darkness. God has a plan for whatever darkness we are experiencing. In our humanity, we want to get out of the darkness. Often, God invites us to sit still for a moment and let God do God’s work.
Micah is one of many examples of God working in darkness. Micah is lamenting over the state of God’s people. The nation has turned from God. They are going their own way. Micah laments the breakdown and destruction of society, family, relationships, honesty, and trust in the land. Israel is in a season of spiritual darkness. This places Micah into a season of darkness. In this season of darkness, Micah writes. “As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! Though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light” (Micah 7:7-8).
Sometimes, the only thing we can do in darkness is wait on the Lord
Waiting on the Lord does not mean that we are apathetic, without hope, or that we do not do our part. Waiting on the Lord means that God’s work is bigger than us. Only God can truly address the darkness in our lives. So we sit and wait with full confidence and peace that God never stops working on our behalf.
There are hidden treasures that we can receive in darkness
Barbara Brown Taylor wrote in her book, Learning to Walk in the Dark: “When despite all my best efforts, the lights have gone off in my life…plunging me into the kind of darkness that turns my knees to water, nonetheless I have not died. The monsters have not dragged me out of bed and taken me back to their lair. The witches have not turned me into a bat. Instead, I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion. I need darkness as much as I need light.” There are as many treasures as there are people, because God’s blessings are customized for each person. God knows the gifts we need, which is always broader than what we think we need.
One great hidden treasure in dark seasons is that God shapes us to become more like Jesus
God is mostly interested in who we are becoming. God is at work forming us to become more like Jesus and to grow into being like Jesus. Much of that work of transforming us happens in the darkness and in the hard seasons of our life. James puts it this way: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy (in other words, embrace the darkness). For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for then your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4). One of the greatest treasures is that God uses dark seasons to shape us to become more like Jesus.
Other hidden treasures in darkness
There are hidden treasures that God extends to us when we embrace darkness as a gift. Some other hidden treasures in darkness include: (1) Deepening our trust in God because we have no choice. (2) Deepening our prayer life because we feel dependent, frightened, or unsure. (3) Recognizing blessings we may have taken for granted. (4) Decluttering our lives and reprioritizing what is most important. (5) Learning to listen for God’s voice more than asking for things. (6) Increased empathy and sensitivity for others experiencing darkness. (7) Experience that causes us to reflect and opens us to other ways of thinking. (8) Wisdom from our experience that can lead us to make different choices. (9) Forgiveness of ourselves and others as we gain new insight and understanding.
When our sole focus is trying to get out of darkness and back into light, we can miss or leave unopened these treasures and gifts. When in darkness, we should hold the truth that God is at work, and there is work we can do as we open these gifts.
Let’s remember the planted seed. It goes into darkness one way as a seed, but it comes out completely changed as a flower bud. A transformation occurs that begins in the darkness.
The gift of God’s presence, connecting with God in the darkness
The greatest treasure of all is that God meets us in the darkness. God is present (Emmanuel). You are not alone.
In one of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia tales, The Horse and His Boy, there is an allegory where the God/Christ figure is portrayed as a lion named Aslan. In this scene, a boy named Shasta is crying because he is lost walking in the dark. Suddenly Shasta felt more fear, anxiety, trouble, and worry as something was walking beside him. The thing beside him was a lion. Shasta heard the voice, but could not see it was a lion because of the darkness. The voice said it has been waiting long for Shasta to converse with it. The voice of the Christ figure Aslan was so deep that it shook the earth. Then loud and clear, and then in a soft whisper, Aslan’s voice removed fear from Shasta. The mist was turning from black, to grey, to shining whiteness. In hearing the lion figure of Christ, Shasta knew that the night darkness was over at last.
When we are in darkness, God is close and personal with us, walking alongside every moment and every step of the way. Sometimes, Christ is waiting for us to speak with Him. Sometimes, Christ is walking as a companion in silence inviting us to trust Him. No matter where we are, God is present with us.
We may feel it is too dark in our lives to see Him. We can still talk to Him in our dark situations. We can seek God’s counsel on our next steps and what to do. We can trust God is guiding us where He wants us to be, even if we cannot see where we’re going. Like Moses, we can embrace the darkness, drawing closer to God’s presence. Like Micah, we can sit patiently in confident hope. Like Cyrus, we can open the hidden treasures of darkness, and let God do God’s work in us. Even though it may be dark, God is there with us, relaxed, comfortable, and completely at home in darkness. God’s presence with us is the Most Treasured gift of darkness. We are never alone.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FOR USE IN FAMILY GROUP
Sermon Preamble
-What memories do you have of overcoming a difficult situation in a dark part of your life characterized by anxiety, fear, dread or worry? How would you make those memories a high point that you can relive when difficult situations and a dark period come again in your life?
All of us have, are, or will face a dark season in our life
-Assuming that you are not immune to trials, what events have been or are now a trial in your life?
In the dark season, often we cry out to God
-In what ways have you questioned or cried out to God in the midst of a trial or a dark season in your life?
Isaiah 45:3 – With God there are hidden treasures in darkness
-In what ways has God gone before you, shown you God’s Work or revealed God’s Word? How did you view your hidden treasures out of the trial and dark circumstances you were facing?
-When you receive these treasures out of darkness, what do you do to glorify God?
The mindset that darkness is bad
-How and in what ways have you felt that darkness is bad and against God?
-How would you describe the darkness the bible describes as against God?
-Is all darkness against God?
Renewing our minds about darkness
-In the creation events, how was God with darkness?
-What are examples of God dwelling in the darkness of a thick cloud?
-In what way is darkness and light the same to God?
Light and darkness are both used by God without being contradictory
-How in the midst of difficult circumstances can you allow God to transform you on the inside and embrace the darkness with God?
One of the treasures hidden in the darkness is God working on our behalf
-What trials and dark circumstances are best handled by waiting confidently for God to work? Why?
Sometimes, the only thing we can do in darkness is wait on the Lord
-What is your testimony showing that God never stops working on your behalf?
There are hidden treasures that we can receive in darkness
-How have the hidden treasures God has given to you in the midst of darkness been personally customized to you based on your needs as an individual?
One great hidden treasure in dark seasons is that God shapes us to become more like Jesus
-What treasure in a trial or dark season of your life would transform you as God shapes you to become more like Jesus?
Other hidden treasures in darkness
-Which hidden treasure would you most like to receive as you embrace darkness?
The gift of God’s presence, connecting with God in the darkness
-Why is the gift of God’s presence with you in darkness thought to be the greatest treasure?
In this message, we are starting a new sermon series called "The Gift of Darkness." Our life journey comes with ups and down, highs and lows, joys and sorrows. We are either in a trial, heading toward a trial, or coming out of a trial. No one is immune. It should not surprise us because Jesus told His disciples that in this world, we will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. Last Sunday, we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection and overcoming the world! Then the church was born and rapidly increased as God added to their numbers daily. At the same time, trouble and darkness were gathering momentum. Some Jews wanted to eliminate followers of Jesus Christ because those Jews perceived followers of Christ as a dangerous sect and were threatened. Roman Emperors and officials also persecuted followers of Jesus. For the next 240 years, followers of Jesus were persecuted, hunted, captured, beaten, burned, whipped, stoned and fed to lions intermittently across the Roman Empire. Amid the joy of a Risen Savior, it was also a hard and dark season for the followers of Jesus. Through our trials, we can embrace the darkness, open the hidden treasures of darkness, and let God do God’s work in us. Then, transformed by God, we are able to work in coordination with God.
All of us have, are, or will face dark seasons in our lives
None of us are immune from dark seasons in our lives. Today we are dealing with relationship challenges, financial stresses, physical or mental health challenges, employment uncertainty, and aging realities. We also face questions about life purpose, crisis of faith, crisis of spiritual dryness, grief, life transitions, post-traumatic stress, and the list of dark seasons goes on.
In the dark season, often we cry out to God
Dark seasons touch us all, and we then question God. Sometimes we cry out to God. We may ask, God, what are you doing? How long, Lord? What am I supposed to do now? God, are you even here? God, please….
In the midst of darkness, God has a plan for us. It may be something God wants us to remember. It may be something Gods wants us to learn. It may be something God wants us to experience. God always has a plan, even in the dark seasons.
Isaiah 45:3 – With God there are hidden treasures in darkness
This passage is a prophetic word from Isaiah to the people of Israel while they were in Babylonian captivity. This chapter of Isaiah and the chapters surrounding it were God’s words of comfort to God’s people of Israel. Through Isaiah, God wanted the people of Israel to know that God had not forgotten them. God is offering words of hope. Their deliverance was coming.
God had chosen the ruler of Persia, Cyrus, to enact God’s plan. History calls him Cyrus the Great. Let’s look at the preceding verses to get the full context. “1This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again. 2This is what the Lord says: ‘I will go before you Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3 And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name’” (Isaiah 45:1-3).
God was true to this promise. Israel’s captivity formally ended in 538 BC, when Cyrus conquered Babylonia. Cyrus then gave the Jews permission to return to Palestine, and he was instrumental in helping them build the second temple. Cyrus obtained treasures from his conquest. Hiding treasure underground was common practice. According to the historian Pliny,
Cyrus obtained vast treasures of gold and silver.
There was a battle of nations and a battle of false gods. God anointed and empowered Cyrus. God gave Cyrus treasures hidden underground in darkness, so it would be known that Yahweh was the one true God and God of gods, not just Israel’s God.
This illustrates a truth that applies to us today, just as it applied literally to Cyrus. The truth is that there are hidden treasures in darkness. However, for you to recognize and receive these treasures, you must renew your mind about darkness.
The mindset that darkness is bad
For many, we have often accepted that dark is bad and light is good. Darkness has been associated with sin, evil, danger, despair, loss and bad guys in black hats. This thinking has devastatingly and detrimentally transferred to racial prejudices and biases; it is in our culture.
Part of the thinking that dark is bad is because we are uncomfortable in the dark. As humans, we don’t see well in the dark. Horror movies have scary things happening in the dark. Often, we don’t feel in control in the dark; we bump into things and get hurt. Evil doers use the cover of darkness to hide. All of those realities serve to make us wary of darkness.
Further some of our perspectives on spiritual darkness come from the Bible. We celebrate that Jesus is the light of the world. “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5). “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness” (Luke 11:34). “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing truth” (1 John 1:5-7). Notice that these passages are talking about spiritual darkness that is separate from or against God. But not all darkness is spiritual darkness against God.
Renewing our minds about darkness
A fuller understanding of darkness begins with God in creation. “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:2-3). Darkness was first, and God was there in the darkness. The Hebrew word translated “hovered” over the darkness is also translated as moved, meaning to “shake, flutter, or relax.” So this verse could be translated as God lived in, dwelled in, and relaxed in the darkness. God did not abolish darkness; God added light.
Consciously and subconsciously, we have made darkness a bad thing. What if we renew our minds, and think of darkness differently from God’s vantage point? “Then Solomon said, ‘The Lord has said that He would dwell in a dark cloud” (1 Kings 8:12). “He made darkness his covering, His canopy around him – the dark rain clouds of the sky” (Psalm 18:11). “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (Psalm 97:2).
The truth about God in a thick cloud of darkness occurred when God engaged with God’s people after the Exodus in the wilderness. At Mt. Sinai, God told Moses that God’s presence would descend in a dark cloud on the mountain. Thunder roared and lightning flashed. “18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance…. 20Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid…’ 21The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:18, 20-21).
God dwells also in darkness not just to carry us through tough times. God dwells in darkness as much as God dwells in light because light and darkness are the same to God. David expressed how there was no place he could go to get away from God’s presence. “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:11-12).
Light and darkness are both used by God without being contradictory
In this sense, darkness is not bad. Light and darkness go together as surely as they do in the natural world. God set it up that way. Darkness and light are complimentary. The earth began as darkness. We are born in darkness. Darkness is essential for the survival of humans, animals, and plants. Scientists reference the importance of darkness in the sleep/wake cycle; the darker the better for a good night’s sleep. We need darkness to make our immune system work properly; in the dark, our bodies produce melatonin which helps fight disease. Darkness is not something we have to fear, avoid, or hurry up and get through.
We may not like the feelings of dark seasons in our life. They can be hard and painful. They can scare us. What if God is saying to us it is okay? God is perfectly comfortable in the dark. What if God is inviting us to change our mindset and embrace the dark with God? When we do, we may find, like Cyrus, hidden treasures in the darkness. The treasures may not be pounds of gold and silver, but still valuable treasure. God does amazing work in darkness! Just ask any seed. Sometimes when you are in a dark place, you think you have been buried, but you’ve actually been planted! As we go through this sermon series, we have planted some Marigold seeds as a reminder and object lesson. We will watch it germinate and grow, and we will be reminded that God is at work in every dark season of our lives. God is working things out for our good and God’s glory. One day we will have a personal testimony to share about treasures born in darkness.
See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w77zPAtVTuI&t=12s&ab_channel=GPhase
One of the treasures hidden in the darkness is God working on our behalf
In praising God we acknowledge truths, even when we don’t see it, God is working. Even when we don’t feel it, God is working. God never stops working. God’s work in the darkness is a hidden treasure in the darkness. God has a plan for whatever darkness we are experiencing. In our humanity, we want to get out of the darkness. Often, God invites us to sit still for a moment and let God do God’s work.
Micah is one of many examples of God working in darkness. Micah is lamenting over the state of God’s people. The nation has turned from God. They are going their own way. Micah laments the breakdown and destruction of society, family, relationships, honesty, and trust in the land. Israel is in a season of spiritual darkness. This places Micah into a season of darkness. In this season of darkness, Micah writes. “As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! Though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light” (Micah 7:7-8).
Sometimes, the only thing we can do in darkness is wait on the Lord
Waiting on the Lord does not mean that we are apathetic, without hope, or that we do not do our part. Waiting on the Lord means that God’s work is bigger than us. Only God can truly address the darkness in our lives. So we sit and wait with full confidence and peace that God never stops working on our behalf.
There are hidden treasures that we can receive in darkness
Barbara Brown Taylor wrote in her book, Learning to Walk in the Dark: “When despite all my best efforts, the lights have gone off in my life…plunging me into the kind of darkness that turns my knees to water, nonetheless I have not died. The monsters have not dragged me out of bed and taken me back to their lair. The witches have not turned me into a bat. Instead, I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion. I need darkness as much as I need light.” There are as many treasures as there are people, because God’s blessings are customized for each person. God knows the gifts we need, which is always broader than what we think we need.
One great hidden treasure in dark seasons is that God shapes us to become more like Jesus
God is mostly interested in who we are becoming. God is at work forming us to become more like Jesus and to grow into being like Jesus. Much of that work of transforming us happens in the darkness and in the hard seasons of our life. James puts it this way: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy (in other words, embrace the darkness). For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for then your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4). One of the greatest treasures is that God uses dark seasons to shape us to become more like Jesus.
Other hidden treasures in darkness
There are hidden treasures that God extends to us when we embrace darkness as a gift. Some other hidden treasures in darkness include: (1) Deepening our trust in God because we have no choice. (2) Deepening our prayer life because we feel dependent, frightened, or unsure. (3) Recognizing blessings we may have taken for granted. (4) Decluttering our lives and reprioritizing what is most important. (5) Learning to listen for God’s voice more than asking for things. (6) Increased empathy and sensitivity for others experiencing darkness. (7) Experience that causes us to reflect and opens us to other ways of thinking. (8) Wisdom from our experience that can lead us to make different choices. (9) Forgiveness of ourselves and others as we gain new insight and understanding.
When our sole focus is trying to get out of darkness and back into light, we can miss or leave unopened these treasures and gifts. When in darkness, we should hold the truth that God is at work, and there is work we can do as we open these gifts.
Let’s remember the planted seed. It goes into darkness one way as a seed, but it comes out completely changed as a flower bud. A transformation occurs that begins in the darkness.
The gift of God’s presence, connecting with God in the darkness
The greatest treasure of all is that God meets us in the darkness. God is present (Emmanuel). You are not alone.
In one of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia tales, The Horse and His Boy, there is an allegory where the God/Christ figure is portrayed as a lion named Aslan. In this scene, a boy named Shasta is crying because he is lost walking in the dark. Suddenly Shasta felt more fear, anxiety, trouble, and worry as something was walking beside him. The thing beside him was a lion. Shasta heard the voice, but could not see it was a lion because of the darkness. The voice said it has been waiting long for Shasta to converse with it. The voice of the Christ figure Aslan was so deep that it shook the earth. Then loud and clear, and then in a soft whisper, Aslan’s voice removed fear from Shasta. The mist was turning from black, to grey, to shining whiteness. In hearing the lion figure of Christ, Shasta knew that the night darkness was over at last.
When we are in darkness, God is close and personal with us, walking alongside every moment and every step of the way. Sometimes, Christ is waiting for us to speak with Him. Sometimes, Christ is walking as a companion in silence inviting us to trust Him. No matter where we are, God is present with us.
We may feel it is too dark in our lives to see Him. We can still talk to Him in our dark situations. We can seek God’s counsel on our next steps and what to do. We can trust God is guiding us where He wants us to be, even if we cannot see where we’re going. Like Moses, we can embrace the darkness, drawing closer to God’s presence. Like Micah, we can sit patiently in confident hope. Like Cyrus, we can open the hidden treasures of darkness, and let God do God’s work in us. Even though it may be dark, God is there with us, relaxed, comfortable, and completely at home in darkness. God’s presence with us is the Most Treasured gift of darkness. We are never alone.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDING FOR USE IN FAMILY GROUP
Sermon Preamble
-What memories do you have of overcoming a difficult situation in a dark part of your life characterized by anxiety, fear, dread or worry? How would you make those memories a high point that you can relive when difficult situations and a dark period come again in your life?
All of us have, are, or will face a dark season in our life
-Assuming that you are not immune to trials, what events have been or are now a trial in your life?
In the dark season, often we cry out to God
-In what ways have you questioned or cried out to God in the midst of a trial or a dark season in your life?
Isaiah 45:3 – With God there are hidden treasures in darkness
-In what ways has God gone before you, shown you God’s Work or revealed God’s Word? How did you view your hidden treasures out of the trial and dark circumstances you were facing?
-When you receive these treasures out of darkness, what do you do to glorify God?
The mindset that darkness is bad
-How and in what ways have you felt that darkness is bad and against God?
-How would you describe the darkness the bible describes as against God?
-Is all darkness against God?
Renewing our minds about darkness
-In the creation events, how was God with darkness?
-What are examples of God dwelling in the darkness of a thick cloud?
-In what way is darkness and light the same to God?
Light and darkness are both used by God without being contradictory
-How in the midst of difficult circumstances can you allow God to transform you on the inside and embrace the darkness with God?
One of the treasures hidden in the darkness is God working on our behalf
-What trials and dark circumstances are best handled by waiting confidently for God to work? Why?
Sometimes, the only thing we can do in darkness is wait on the Lord
-What is your testimony showing that God never stops working on your behalf?
There are hidden treasures that we can receive in darkness
-How have the hidden treasures God has given to you in the midst of darkness been personally customized to you based on your needs as an individual?
One great hidden treasure in dark seasons is that God shapes us to become more like Jesus
-What treasure in a trial or dark season of your life would transform you as God shapes you to become more like Jesus?
Other hidden treasures in darkness
-Which hidden treasure would you most like to receive as you embrace darkness?
The gift of God’s presence, connecting with God in the darkness
-Why is the gift of God’s presence with you in darkness thought to be the greatest treasure?
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